


Only the Good Die Young

by happytreasure



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Attempted Sexual Assault, Blood Kink, Blood and Violence, Cock Warming, Dom/sub Undertones, M/M, Platonic Soulmates, Possessive Behavior, Sexual Content, background benverly, background stanlonbrough, everyone is a vampire except eds, kinda i mean they’re vampires so, richie is a bit crazy about his boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-04-19 14:13:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14239011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happytreasure/pseuds/happytreasure
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak is starting his senior year of college when Beverly Marsh decides to sit down next to him in his first class of the year. She later introduces him to her tight knit group of friends, and ultimately Richie Toizer, who ends up drastically changing Eddie's life.Suddenly he's exposed to a world he thought only existed in fairytales, and despite all the new dangers that come with it, Eddie’s never felt more alive.It just so happens his new found happiness comes at a price.





	1. There's No Stopping Now

Richie takes a final drag from his cigarette before flicking the last of it off the banister. 

 

He feels the cold breeze nip at his cheeks, but it doesn’t bother him. 

 

“Richie, baby, you should come back inside.”

 

Richie turns to look at the girl who’s standing in the door way, she has the duvet from the bed wrapped around her and she’s still shivering. 

 

She probably thinks he’s off his rocker for standing outside on the patio in this weather. 

 

“In a moment, darling, why don’t you go back to bed?” he says softly. 

 

She quickly obeys him although she doesn’t really know why. 

 

Richie’s been hooking up with her for a while now, she’s good fun and all, but as always Richie’s soul yearns for someone else. 

 

He gave up searching for his twin flame—the one who mirrors his soul a long time ago. 

 

He wonders if he’ll ever find them.

 

Soulmates are special to vampires, once one becomes cursed with eternal life they’re able to tell how many pieces their soul is split into. Richie likes to think it’s the worlds way of appeasing them after taking away their mortality.

 

Richie’s soul is split into seven pieces, and he’s been lucky enough to find six of them. He loves his little clan dearly, but something greater is missing, at least for him. Their last and seventh soulmate would be Richie’s twin flame, and finally complete their clan—that is if Richie ever finds them. 

 

 

-

 

Eddie plops down in a seat somewhere in the middle of the room and takes out a notebook and a pencil, preparing for his first class of the year. 

 

He’s not necessarily excited to start his senior year of college because it’s school, but he loves attending college in New York, and has fallen in love with the city. It definitely beats Derry. 

 

Up until college Eddie had lived a pretty mundane life.

 

He grew up in a small town and under the domineering thumb of his mother. He followed her every wish until he found out the everything she had been telling him was a lie. After that things had been tense. 

 

He often contemplated getting emancipated or running away, but fate made the decision for him when his mother died of a heart attack during his senior year of high school. He was conflicted over her death, and he supposes that’s why he ran away from the strange little town of Derry the minute he graduated.

 

College allowed Eddie to blossom as a person. He made friends, went to parties, had sex, and did almost everything his mother told him not to do. It’s great and all, but regardless of what he does he still feels like there’s a chunk missing from his life. 

 

He’s ripped from his thoughts when someone sits down next to him. 

 

He turns to look at the fucker who decided it was necessary to sit right next to him when there’s hundreds of other seats available. 

 

He surprised to find a gorgeous girl who seems so startlingly familiar yet he knows he’s never met before. 

 

She’s dressed in a floral boho chic dress paired with soft brown leather boots. Her long fiery red hair is piled on top of her head in a perfectly messy bun. He briefly admires her makeup skills before locking eyes with her. 

 

She breaks into a grin and sticks out a hand. “I’m Beverly Marsh, what’s your name, cutie?”

 

“Eddie Kaspbrak, may I ask why you decided to sit next to me of all people?” he says not unkindly.

 

She smirks. “You were the only obviously gay person, and I decided I’d sit with my own kind.”

 

Eddie snorts, he would get offended but he’s been told on multiple occasions he might as well have ‘twink’ written across his forehead, he's also wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it, so, that's also a bit of a give away. “So, you’re a lesbian I take it?” 

 

“I'm just kidding I saw the pride pin on your bag, and I’m actually bi,” she admits “but that means we can admire all the cute boys in class together.”

 

Eddie smiles, he can’t remember ever clicking with someone so quickly. He definitely hopes Beverly Marsh sticks around.

 

“Oh, good, I need someone to help me pick which face to stare at when I’m not paying attention to lectures,” he jokes. 

 

Before they can continue their conversation any further the professor calls the class to attention. He spends most of the period reviewing the syllabus and outilining his expectations.

 

By the end of class Beverly and he have traded numbers and already agreed to grab lunch together sometime.

-

 

“Hey Bev, how was your first day of school?” Bill asks as she bursts through the door. 

 

“Fantastic!” she exclaims, plopping down on the couch next to Stan.

 

Stan shakes his head. “I still have no idea why you’d ever want to go back to school.”

 

“Because I’m studying what I love, Stanny,” she says, “but that’s not important right now.” 

 

Stan looks up, and raises an eyebrow at her statement.

 

“I found our seventh soulmate,” Beverly says with a grin, practically bursting with excitement. 

 

Bill pauses from where he’s making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and looks her in the eye.

 

“Bev, are you sure?”

 

“I felt complete the minute I laid eyes on him! You guys will love him, he’s super cute,” she gushed.

 

“You know that our seventh soulmate is bound to be Richie’s twin flame,” Stan whispers.

 

Beverly knows this very well. Twin flames are extremely special. They are almost always bound to be romantic partners and provide a much deeper connection than a soulmate. Usually it’s only two people but sometimes twin flames can be shared among three or even four people. Beverly likes to call them triplet and quadruplet flames. 

 

“Well, it only makes sense that our seventh soulmate would be Richie’s twin flame,” Beverly agrees.

 

Richie is the only one in their little clan to have not found his twin flame. Beverly thinks it’s a cruel twist of fate considering he’s been turned the longest. 

 

Bill walks over to where they’re sitting on the couch, sandwich in hand. 

 

“Well, where is he?” Bill asks.

 

“Well, I couldn’t just kidnap him, he’s still human,” Beverly admits. 

 

Stan snaps to attention. “Wait he’s still human?!”

 

All of them had been lucky enough to find each other already turned. Except for Richie who turned Beverly, none of them had to struggle with the decision of cursing their loved ones with eternal life.

 

Bill frowns. “That’s gonna kill Richie.” 

 

“He’s done it before,” Beverly pouts.

 

“Bev, you know damn well he only changed you because you were bleeding out when he found you. That decision still haunts him. He’s never gonna be able to turn his twin flame,” Stan points out.

 

Beverly sighs sadly, “But he’s meant to be with us, I know it.”

 

Before they can continue their conversation further Richie bursts through the door, headphones around his neck, and a big grin on his face.

 

“What’s up fuckers? I bought Chinese food!” 

 

Richie’s smile disappears when he picks up on the solemn atmosphere in the room.

 

“What’s wrong? You guys love the taste of Chinese.”

 

“Yeah, thanks Richie!” Beverly says, standing to take the bag from Richie.

 

He grabs her wrist when she gets near enough and holds it up to his nose.

 

“Damn Bevvy, you get a new perfume? You smell really good.”

 

“Oh, no,” Stan says.

 

“What?” Richie asks, and Beverly is taken aback by how dilated his pupils already are.

 

She turns to Bill and Stan. “You guys can’t smell him on me, can you?”  

 

Bill shakes his head and furrows his brows. “Usually the connection isn’t that strong.”

 

“Well, their souls have been apart for a very long time,” Stan says.

 

“Cool, can we maybe not talk like I’m not standing right here?” 

 

Beverly looks between the three of them, unsure what to say. 

 

“Bevvy, just tell me,” Richie pleads.

 

She looks him in the eye and gulps. “I found him Richie.” 

 

 “Who?” Richie says quietly.

 

“You know who, your twin flame.” 

 

“Bev, where is he, I’ve been waiting so long to meet him, and I don’t understand, why aren’t you guys happy?” 

 

“Richie-“

 

“Is it bad? Is he like married or something?”

 

“Richie,” Stan says firmly, “he’s human.” 

 

Richie’s smile drops. “Fuck,” he curses, “you think the universe would let me catch a fucking break or something, huh?” 

 

Beverly feels hot tears run down her face. “Richie, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Hey, no, Bevvy it’s okay,” he says sweetly and pulls her into a hug. “I still want to meet him though.”

 

“It’d have to been in a controlled environment,” Stan says sternly, “there’s no telling how you may react to his scent.” 

 

Richie frowns, knowing he can’t dispute his friend’s point. Vampires who meet their twin flame as humans have been known to become overwhelmed by the scent and the urge to bite their mate.

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie is laid out in the middle of his kitchen floor. Beverly is perched on his kitchen counter, munching on his Oreos.

 

“I feel like my brain has melted,” Eddie groans. They had just finished a brutal homework session that left Eddie very much exhausted.

 

Beverly laughs. “Yeah, but we’re a whole week ahead of schedule, now we can just relax.”

 

“Good point,” Eddie says, picking himself off the floor and shuffling to his fridge. 

 

“Ugh,” he groans, “I have no food.”

 

“We can go out,” Beverly suggests.

 

“As much as I would love to, I’m a poor college student.”

 

Beverly shrugs. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for you.”

 

Eddie purses his lips. “You sure?” 

 

“Eddie, I feel like you forget that I live with people who have rich parents.”

 

“God, do their parents want to possibly adopt a small, sad aspiring nurse?” Eddie asks jokingly.

 

Beverly snorts. “Not sure, but Mike will probably want to adopt you the minute he sees you.”

 

Eddie notices early on that Beverly talks about her roommates a lot. From what Eddie gathers they’ve all been friends for a very long time and are extremely close. 

 

“You should let me meet my soon to be adoptive mother,” Eddie says.

 

Beverly lights up. “That’s a good idea! We can meet them somewhere to eat.”

 

“Sounds good,” Eddie agrees, he walks the short distance to his bedroom and rummages through his closet for something to wear.

 

“Remind me who’s who again,” Eddie calls from his room. 

 

Beverly appears in his doorway as he pulls on an oversized baby blue sweater.

 

“The one with curly hair is Stan, the lanky one with reddish-brown hair is Bill, and the muscular black guy is Mike,” Beverly explains.

 

“And they’re all dating, right?” he clarifies as he slips on some ripped boyfriend jeans. 

 

“Right,” she confirms, “and the one with the beard is my boyfriend Ben.”

 

Eddie pauses as he yanks on his converse. “Isn’t there one other one? The one with curly black hair that’s in all your group photos on Instagram.” 

 

“Oh, that’s Richie, he’s probably at work though, he’s a radio talk show host,” Beverly explains.

 

“So, you’re the youngest of the group?” 

 

Beverly nods. “I’m twenty-one, Ben is twenty-two, Stan and Mike are Twenty-three, Bill is Twenty-four, and Richie is Twenty-five.”

 

Eddie himself was almost twenty-one, even younger than Beverly.

 

“Jeez, I feel so young,” Eddie says.

 

“You don’t look a day over seventeen,” Beverly jokes.

 

“Hey! It’s not my fault I suffer from severe baby face,” Eddie retorts.

 

“C’mon, kid,” Beverly says, dragging him out of his apartment, “get ready to meet my literal platonic soulmates.” 

 

Eddie chuckles, he finds it admirable how close she is with her friends. Although he’s kind of nervous to meet them. It almost feels like he’s going to meet her parents or something—he can tell these people are very important to Beverly, and while he’s only know Beverly for about a month he feels like he’s known her for years. He definitely wants her friends to like him.

 

He laughs as Beverly pulls into the parking lot of the restaurant. “Applebee’s?”

 

Beverly shrugs. “It’s Stan’s favorite restaurant, and what Stan wants Stan gets.”

 

Eddie snickers. “Sounds like he’s got his boyfriends whipped.”

 

Beverly smiles. “You don’t even know.” 

 

-

 

They all ended up stuffed in a booth in the back corner of the diner. Eddie had the same odd feeling that he’d met all these people before. They’re faces looked so familiar. 

 

They all quickly introduce themselves before falling into easy conversation. Eddie is surprised to see how easily he clicks with them. He even finds himself opening up to them a lot quicker than he does with other people. He feels almost like he’s known these people for so long—like they should already know his history.

 

“So, Eddie tell us a little bit about yourself,” Mike says as he takes a bite of his burger. 

 

Eddie shrugs. “Um, I’m kind of a boring person.” 

 

Beverly stares him dead in the eyes. “Um, you’re the literal light of my life?” 

 

“I feel like that honor should be given to your boyfriend,” Eddie chuckles.

 

“It’s okay, Ben agrees that you’re like a literal ray of sunshine,” she responds.

 

“You are pretty cute,” Ben agrees.

 

“Okay, while I’m glad we’ve established that Eddie is adorable I want to hear his backstory here, like where’d you grow up?” Stan asks.

 

“Derry, Maine. It’s a small town with small minds, and I wore like fucking knee socks as a kid so I got the shit beaten outta me often,” Eddie explained. 

 

“Yikes, so a rough childhood then?” Stan says sympathetically.

 

Eddie nodded. “You could say that, my mother was also ridicously neurotic, she was convinced I was sick as a kid, gave me all these fake pills and kept me inside.”

 

Mike frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that, Eddie. Where’s you mom now?”

 

“Um, she died right as I was finishing up high school, I kinda just wanted to get out of Derry after that.”

 

“That’s understandable,” Bill says, “I hope college is treating you better.”

 

“Oh, yeah, I love college! I’m studying to be a nurse. I also definitely went wild with the sudden freedom I’d gained,” Eddie admits.

 

Beverly gasps. “Did you have a slut phase?”

 

“Bev, you can’t just ask people if they had slut phases,” Ben chides. 

 

Eddie giggles and feels his cheeks grow warm. “Yeah, I don’t really talk about my freshman year of college. I basically did everything my mom would never want me to do.”

 

“Is that when you got your ears pierced?” Bill asks pointing to Eddie’s ears.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie confirms, bringing a hand up to fiddle with the earring, “I also got a few other piercings.”

 

Beverly waggles her eyebrows at him. Eddie defiantly sticks his tongue out at her, showing off the jewel in the middle it. 

 

“You got your tongue pierced!” she exclaims.

 

He nods. “And my belly button! I also got a tattoo on my ribs.”

 

“Wow, you really did have a wild phase. What’s the tattoo of?” Stan asks.

 

Eddie pulls up his shirt and shows off the pink flowers on his ribs. “It’s of Gladioluses—it’s a flower that symbolizes strength.”

 

“It’s pretty,” Bill compliments.

 

“Thank you,” he says, letting his sweater fall back down.

 

He still can’t get over the overwhelming sense that he’s finally found a home.

 

-

 

Eddie starts hanging out with Beverly and her friends a lot more after that. Eventually Beverly doesn’t need to act as a buffer anymore as Eddie becomes another member of the group. He’s never really had genuine, close friendships before, but he finds himself falling into these ones easily.

Although he never meets Richie, despite hanging out with the group almost daily. He’s always busy with something or the other. Eddie wonders if he doesn’t appreciate someone new encroaching on his tight knit group of friends. 

 

Eddie really hopes that’s not the case.

 

-

 

Eddie finishes applying some mascara, before looking at his appearance in the mirror.

 

He has got on burgundy jean shorts and a soft gray crop top, paired with black vans. He smiles at his reflection—he definitely looks ready to go to a gay club. Eddie had ended up throwing himself into the gay scene once he got to college. He grew up constantly being called a 'girly boy' and a 'sissy', but the negative connotation that used to come with expressing himself was crushed once he got to college. He ended up becoming friends with a kind-hearted makeup artist named Hazel who encouraged him to express himself in any way that made him happy. That's how Eddie ended up growing into the person he is now. 

 

That night Beverly had invited him to go along with her and the group sans Richie. 

 

He’s fixing a wayward strand of hair when he hears Beverly’s text tone. He quickly grabs his phone before heading out. 

 

“God, I still can’t believe you drive a pink fucking convertible,” Eddie teases as he slides into the back seat of her car. 

 

Beverly scoffs. “I’m offended you think I’d drive anything else.”

 

-

 

Eddie gets a little more drunk than he should. Okay, he gets a _lot_ more drunk than he should. On top of that Eddie’s tiny and horrible at holding his liquor.

 

Two shots in and he’s dragged Beverly on to the dance floor. 

 

Three shots in and he’s grinding on some random.

 

Five shots in and Eddie Kaspbrak is fucking preforming on the dance floor.

 

And Eddie can _dance_. Especially when a Beyoncé song comes on.

 

By the time the nights coming to an end Beverly decides that Eddie should probably just crash at their place considering he’s hammered.

 

Eddie wonders how his friends seem to have sobered up so fast. 

 

Before he knows it, Ben is picking him up out of the backseat of the convertible and carrying him up to their apartment.

 

“Beverly your boyfriend is like the most gorgeous person ever,” Eddie raves.

 

Beverly giggles. “I know right? I’m so lucky.” 

 

-

 

Eddie awakens the next day in a room that isn’t his. It’s covered in band posters and sound equipment. There’s a keyboard in one corner and a guitar in the other. 

He concludes it must be the allusive Richie’s room. He also assumes the tattered band shirt he’s in is also Richie’s.

 

He rolls over to see a glass of water and some aspirin on the nightstand. He gratefully swallows the pills and downs the water before getting out of bed. 

 

A quick look at his phone tells him that it’s rather early in the morning. Judging from the stillness of the house he assumes he’s the first one up. Normally Eddie probably would have waited for someone else to wake up before leaving the room, but he woke up ridiculously hungry. He pads down the hardwood floored hall and into the kitchen. He hopes nobody minds if he steals some food, and decides to pillage some cereal.

 

After pouring himself a bowl he plops down in front of the TV. Just as he’s settling down to watch some Dr. Phil he hears the front door creak open. 

 

He’s momentarily terrified before he realizes that it’s probably Richie coming home from wherever he was last night.

 

Eddie watches as Richie shuffles through the door and starts kicking off his boots. He pauses midway through removing his second shoe. His head snaps up and he immediately locks eyes with Eddie.

 

He’s slightly unnerved by how intensely Richie’s staring him down, he chalks it up to him being confused about a stranger in his house.

 

“Um, I’m Eddie, I go to school with Beverly, you must be Richie,” Eddie says.

 

Before Richie can respond Eddie hears someone walking up behind the couch. He turns to see Beverly, who’s giving Richie a worried look.

 

Eddie turns back around and is scared to find that Richie’s stare hasn’t left him. 

 

“Richie,” Beverly warns.

 

Finally, his eyes flicker to her briefly before they’re back on Eddie. 

 

Suddenly he’s spins around and darts back out the door almost quicker than Eddie can comprehend. 

 

Again he turns to Beverly. “Um, what the fuck was that?” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whats up im back with second reddie fic bc i got unmotivated about my first one.
> 
> anyway things in this universe will be explained and discussed in future chapters so dw
> 
> anyway plEASE leave me comments (or kudos) bc they are literally the only thing that motivates me??
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure, pls come yell with me abt eddie kaspbrak


	2. In These Stolen Moments

Richie is nervously pacing his room waiting for Beverly to come back. She has just left to drop Eddie off at home. The poor boy must be so confused, and Richie can’t blame him because he had just stared him down like a goddamn predator.

He stops his pacing when Beverly opens his door.

“What’d you tell him?” Richie asks immediately.

Beverly sighs and leans against the door frame. “I told him you were drunk off your ass.”

Richie nods. “God, Bev, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.”

She frowns. “You have to learn to control yourself, Richie.”

“It’s like I lost my mind the minute I smelt him,” he groans, “and now my fucking sheets smell like him and I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Well then you’ll have to practice not reacting horribly to his scent,” Beverly says.

“And how do you suggest I do that?”

Instead of answering Beverly chucks a piece of gray cloth at his face.

“What’s this?” he asks, nose already overwhelmed by the sweet scent.

“That’s Eddie’s crop top,” she explains, “use that to get used to his scent.”

Richie’s slightly embarrassed that his fangs are already out, but Beverly just laughs.

“Try not to get jizz on it,” she teases as she closes to door.

“No promises!” he calls.

  
-

It takes Richie two weeks of dealing with Eddie’s scent before he can keep his fangs from coming out automatically.

“AYE BEVVY!” he screams.

She’s in his doorway in less the two seconds.

“What?!” she asks worriedly.

“I DID IT!” he yells, proudly bringing the shirt up to his nose and then showing off his teeth.

“No fangs!” she cheers.

“No fangs!” he repeats.

-

After Richie learns to not absolutely lose his shit around Eddie’s scent Beverly agrees that he should start joining them on their outings.

“Okay, repeat the game plan back to me,” Beverly says, fixing his hair.

Richie rolls his eyes at her mothering. “I try my best not to touch him, if I feel like I’m losing control I go to the bathroom and chill the fuck out, and under no circumstances do I sleep with him.”

“Good boy,” Beverly praises, patting his cheek.

-

Eddie agrees to Uber to the bar their meeting at since it’s relatively close to where he lives.

For the first time Richie is coming along, and for some reason he finds himself slightly nervous about seeing the other boy.

Their first meeting had been a little less than desirable but his friends assured him that sober Richie was much more enjoyable.

Eddie has to admit Richie was attractive, and most definitely his type. From what Eddie has gathered from Richie’s Instagram (not that he was staking it or anything) he has a slight dorky bad boy vibe going for him, and Eddie honestly couldn’t remember the amount of times he hooked up with boys like that his freshman year of college. His friends, however, claim that Richie is much more of a nerd in real life. 

He spends an unnecessary amount of time picking out his outfit, feeling slightly ridiculous considering it isn’t a first date or anything. In fact, he’s pretty sure Beverly mentioned Richie was sleeping over at a girl’s house the night Eddie slept in his bed. He probably has a girlfriend anyway.

In the end he decides on pale pink overalls and a white shirt. He grabs his inhaler before he heads out. He rarely uses it, but something tells him he might need it.

-

Once Eddie spots Beverly he rushes up to her and wraps in her a hug which she readily returns.

“I missed you!” he chirps.

Beverly laughs. “I missed you too, even though we saw each other two days ago.”

Eddie giggles stepping away from her and rocking on his heels and addressing the group. “How’s everybody?”

“We’re good,” Mike responds, slinging an arm over Stan’s shoulder. “You want to grab a table? There’s a local band playing tonight—the show should start soon.”

Eddie nods and they start off in search of a table.

He turns to Beverly once they’re all sat at a table. “Where’s Richie? You said he was coming tonight right?”

Suddenly he hears a deep voice behind him. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Eddie turns to see Richie who takes the seat next to him. He definitely looks better than when coming home from a night out. Eddie admires how his long legs are shown off by the fitting black jeans which are paired with black boots. Funnily enough he is wearing a white button up with little lobsters printed all over it. The short sleeves show off some tattoos along his arms. His hair is also much more tamed and he isn’t sporting the clunky glasses Eddie had seen him in before.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Richie teases.

Eddie juvenilely sticks his tongue out at Richie. “Like you have room to talk, you gave me the stare down of a lifetime the first time we met.”

Richie’s eyes light up. “Holy shit, you really do have your tongue pierced. Bev said you did, but I didn’t believe her.”

Eddie’s amused by Richie’s short attention span. “What made you doubt it?”

Richie gestures at him. “I dunno the whole little innocent pastel thing you have going on.”

Eddie smirks. “That doesn’t mean I’m innocent.”

Beverly grins. “Yeah, you don’t wanna underestimate Eddie.”

Richie looks slightly flustered. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Miss Marsh.”

The show starts soon enough, and they order their food and their conversations go as normal. Eddie quickly learns Richie has a crude sense of humor, and while Eddie finds some of his jokes gross he has to admit he’s funny. Although his friends’ nickname ‘trashmouth’ is more than accurate.

Eddie finds himself dreading the night’s end, and when it comes he makes sure to get Richie’s number—for the group chat of course.

-

To: lucky seven

_heyyyy someone come get lunch with me i’m super bored_

From: Trashmouth

_yoooo i’ll go w you_

Eddie’s surprised that none of his other friends respond to the message.

To: lucky seven

_okie we’ll go to the diner by my house, does anyone else wanna come?_

__

From: Benny boi

_sorry eddie beverly is sick and i’m taking care of her and the trio is out on a date_

From: Trashmouth

_looks like it’s just us ;)_

To: lucky seven

_i’ll meet you there in thirty minutes_

-

Richie thankful for his friends setting him up with Eddie by rain checking his lunch invitation.

Despite having hung out with Eddie several times it’s always been with the others present. This would be the first time Richie would be with Eddie alone.

When he walks into the diner he immediately spots Eddie in the back corner. He’s wearing joggers and a crop top and Richie tries desperately not to stare too long at his stomach.

“What’s up, Eds?” Richie asks sliding into the booth.

Eddie wrinkles his nose in an adorable fashion. “Don’t call me that.”

Richie just chuckles. “So, I discovered another one of you’re piercings,” he says pointing to Eddie’s stomach “got anymore surprises?”

Eddie fiddles with the ring on his tummy. “I mean I’ve got a tattoo, but the surprises don’t stop there.”

“I’m a fan of tattoos,” Richie says.

“Yeah, I can see, how many do you have?”

“Eight,” Richie responds.

Eddie hums. “You’ll have to show me all of them sometime.”

Richie waggles his eyebrows. “Are you implying you want to see me shirtless?”

Eddie doesn’t break eye contact. “I thought that much was obvious.”

Richie 100% is not ready for how openly Eddie is flirting with him when it’s just the two of them.

He’s not entirely sure how he gets through lunch.

-

It’s the second time Eddie plans to go out to a gay club with the group that Richie agrees to come along. Eddie personally sees it as the perfect opportunity to tease Richie. The flirting had drastically increased since they first met, and even if Richie isn’t into him romantically Eddie has no problem making him squirm.

Eddie is more than aware that he’ll get ample attention when he goes to the club.

Already finished with makeup he gets dressed in fishnet tights, shorts that are ridiculously short, and a crop top so skimpy nearly all of his tattoo is visible.

He smirks at his reflection—he’ll definitely be able to confirm whether or not Richie is into him.

  
-

Richie is entirely unprepared for what Eddie’s wearing. He nearly chokes when Beverly and he arrive.

Now he can’t tear his eyes from the boy, who’s not holding back with Beverly on the dance floor. He finally looks away when he crushes the shot glass in his hand into several pieces.

“Oh, my god are you okay?” Ben asks as he alerts the bartender of the mess.

“I’ve never been harder in my life,” Richie deadpans.

Ben laughs. “Gross, Richie.”

Richie looks back over to where Eddie and Beverly are dancing just in time to see some fucker grab Eddie’s hips and start grinding on him. Instead of pulling away Eddie scans the crowd and locks eyes with Richie before grinding back. Richie feels blood boil when Eddie licks his lips and winks, not breaking eye contact.

Richie growls lowly, and Ben quickly whips around to see what he’s staring at.

“Alright, outside. Now,” he says firmly, putting a strong hand on Richie’s chest.

Richie let’s Ben lead him outside reluctantly, knowing damn well Ben could easily throw him over his shoulder if necessary.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Richie curses barely holding back from punching a hole in the goddamn concrete.

“Richie, calm down your fangs are out and your eyes are red!”

Richie’s stares at him indignantly. “Some fucker in there is touching what’s mine.”

Ben crosses his arms. “I don’t care, we’re staying out here until you chill the fuck out.”.

-

It’s another thirty minutes before Richie feels calm enough to go back inside and by that point Beverly decides to round up the troops and bring everyone home. Once again she decides to drag a drunk Eddie back to their apartment.

Richie nearly loses it when Eddie puts his arms out to be picked up out of the back seat of the car.

“Carry me, Richie!” he says giggly.

Richie silently obliges, putting absolutely all his effort into not tearing Eddie clothes off.

After Beverly tucks Eddie onto Richie’s bed, once again in one of Richie’s shirts, she banishes him to the couch.

-

He doesn’t sleep, instead he sits on the couch, trying to ignore his intense want to pin Eddie to the mattress.

It’s around 3 A.M. when Eddie walks into the living room.

“Richie?” he whispers.

“Yeah?”

Eddie doesn’t respond instead sitting down next to Richie and tucking his knees under himself.

Richie can’t help but notice how Eddie is practically drowning in his shirt, collar bones completely exposed.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Can’t sleep,” Eddie responds, he pauses briefly before continuing, “why’d you leave when I started dancing with someone else?”

Richie chuckles at his lack of build up, but answers honestly. “I get jealous easily.”

Eddie scoffs. “You can’t get jealous of what’s not yours.”

Richie leans into Eddie’s space. “What if I make you mine?”

Eddie inhales. “No one’s stopping you.”

Richie immediately pulls Eddie into his lap so the smaller boy is straddling him. He absentmindedly runs his hands up and down Eddie’s sides, stopping on his ass.

“Is that so?” he whispers.

The second Eddie nods Richie connects their lips, and quickly dissolves into them messily making out.

Richie groans and can’t keep himself from kissing down Eddie’s neck.

Eddie let’s out soft, breathy noises at the attention. “Careful, I’m sensitive there,” he giggles, rocking his hips into Richie’s

Richie licks a stripe up his neck. “God, you’re perfect.”

When Eddie brings a hand up to tug at his hair Richie knows he has to stop himself before he loses control.

He groans, knowing his fangs are about to come out, he pulls away. “Fuck, baby, you’re drunk, I can’t.”

Eddie makes a noise of disapproval. “You’re no fun,” he pouts.

Richie chuckles. “We’ll talk in the morning, okay?”

Eddie lays his head on Richie’s shoulder and sighs. “Okay.”

  
-

  
Eddie assumed he and Richie would fuck first or something before they even considered dating. So, he’s surprised when Richie insists on taking him to dinner first.

They set a date for next week as Richie is booked with work until then.

That doesn’t stop Eddie from coming over to the apartment though. It’s easier now that Beverly has given him a key.

-

Richie groans dramatically and slams his head on the table.

Beverly makes a noise of protest when it rattles her cup full of blood.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I can’t sleep with him without biting him, Bev,” he complains.

Bev snorts. “Just stick to blowies.”

Richie stares at her. “I’m sorry have you seen that boy’s ass? Am I just like not supposed to smash if he offers.”

Beverly cackles. “Oh, my god, you better figure out quick if you want to date him because Eddie is like a grade A slut in the bedroom.”

Richie slams his head back down on the table.

-

Eddie’s a month into dating Richie and they still haven’t done anything. Don’t get him wrong; dating Richie is amazing. But at this point Eddie’s confused because Beverly had mentioned Richie slept around a lot. He wonders if Richie’s going slow because of him, so, he starts dropping hints: sending suggestive snapchats, wearing short shorts, straddling him. The usual in the universal handbook of How To Get A Guy To Stick His Dick Up Your Ass.

When nothing succeeds he finally gives in and decides to consult Beverly about it.

It’s not unusual for Eddie to show up at their apartment unannounced, so, he sees no problem with it this time.

However, when he unlocks the door and swings it open he’s faced with a shirtless Richie sitting on the couch, head tilted back, chugging what looks like a red substance from a glass. Eddie’s stomach churns as he looks at the liquid—it’s so eerily similar looking to blood. The consistency is entirely too thick to be punch or anything else.

“Richie?” Eddie whispers, glued to his spot.

Richie slowly lowers his head and Eddie feels lightheaded when he sees his boyfriend with red pupils, blood dripping down his chin and most concerning: fangs.

Eddie gasps. “Oh, my fucking God.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops cliff hanger anyway  
> I FUCKING SWOONED AT THE ATTENTION YOU GAVE THIS FIC LAST CHAPTER!!!  
> it had me so excited and motivated to write this next chapter
> 
> please leave me a comment to fuel me for next chapter!!
> 
> also i’m considering raising the rating on this and adding some smut, what do y’all think?
> 
> also this fic was inspired by Lust for Life by lana del rey
> 
> hope you enjoy!!
> 
> and sorry for any mistakes i don’t have a beta and i’m dyslexic as fuck 
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


	3. Keeping it Hot

 

Strangled breaths are being ripped out of Eddie’s throat, and he desperately reaches into his pocket for an inhaler that isn’t there. His eyes are still glued to Richie who’s absolutely dumbstruck, staring back at him.

“I-I-I can’t bre-breathe,” Eddie chokes out, tears already streaming down his face.

Richie wipes the blood from his chin on his forearm and slowly stands. “Eddie, no please, it’s not what it looks like.”

Eddie tries to back up but his back hits the door after a few steps. “I don’t- I can’t,” he’s looking wildly around the room, a part of him is expecting Beverly or one of the others to pop out and tell him he’s just received the prank of a lifetime.

“Eddie, I know this is a lot,” Richie says, raising his hands in a nonthreatening manner.

Eddie furiously shakes his head and presses his back further into the door.

“Richie, stop.”

Eddie quickly spots Beverly in the hallway entrance. She’s sternly staring at Richie who’s trying to move towards him.

Without thinking Eddie runs over to Beverly who easily wraps him in her arms.

“Shhh, it’s okay, love,” she coos.

Richie looks at him disappointedly, but Eddie is too scared to comfort him in any way.

“This is a really mean prank,” Eddie hiccups, “you know I hate having panic attacks.”

“Eddie, I’m so sorry,” Richie apologizes.

Beverly strokes his hair. “You know it’s not a prank, Eddie, it’s entirely too real to be.”

Eddie shakes his head firmly. “But things like this aren’t real!”

It couldn't be, there’s no way Richie was really just drinking blood. He felt like his head was spinning.

Beverly gives him a sad smile. “Seeing is believing.”

-

It takes a while for Eddie to get his shit together. Beverly stays with him for the duration of his attack, and he’s thankful, but now he feels like he’s on the verge of another one.

Once he calmed down she sat him on a chair in front of the couch and called the others to the living room. They all piled in and Eddie can’t help but squirm under their stares.

“So, you’re vampires?” Eddie confirms for the millionth time.

Stan smiles sympathetically. “Yes, Eddie we’re vampires.”

Eddie sniffles and rubs at his temples trying to delay his oncoming migraine.

“Tissue?” Bill offers.

Eddie fucking screams when he sees the tissue box floating towards him.

It immediately drops to the ground. “Wait you haven’t told him about powers yet?”

Beverly sighs. “No Bill, we were still stuck on the whole vampire thing.”

Bill smiles sheepishly.

“Powers? What are you the fucking Cullens?” he says exasperatedly.

His question is followed by a collective groan from all the vampires.

“I take it that movie is a sore spot?”

“We don’t fucking sparkle,” Stan grouses.

“Although we are supernatural creatures, she got the whole inhuman speed and strength down,” Mike clarifies.

“And the powers apparently,” Eddie says.

Beverly nods. “For example, I have the ability of precognition or the ability to tell the future.”

Eddie unexpectedly feels himself calm down a little more, it’s like a wave of tranquility washes over him, taking his anxiety with it.

He takes a deep breath. “Okay, I don’t feel so anxious anymore,” he turns to Bill, “So wild guess: your power is telekinesis?”

Bill nods. “Yeah, it’s cliche but pretty useful, although my boys’ powers are much more unique.”

“I have pyrokinesis or the ability to manipulate fire,” Mike explains.

Eddie lights up. “Wow, that’s so cool!”

Mike rubs the back of his neck. “You should hear Stan’s, it’s very rare.”

Eddie looks at Stan expectantly.

“Gerontokinesis,” he says, “the ability to control the age of living organisms and objects.”

“Woah, I didn’t even know that was a thing,” Eddie marvels.

Stan grins. “It’s pretty cool, I once turned Richie into a three-year-old, sadly, the effects aren’t permanent on immortal creatures.”

Eddie laughs. “Nice.”

“Hey!” Richie protests.

Eddie ignores him turning to Ben next. “What about you? Do you have like super strength or something?”

Ben shakes his head. “Nothing that cool, I just have the ability of verbal manipulation, basically I can make people say whatever I want and convince them of anything.”

Eddie nods in understanding. “Sounds useful.”

“Yeah, Benny boy is a big reason of why we’re rich,” Richie says.

Eddie finally turns to his boyfriend. “What about you?”

“I can manipulate people’s emotions,” he explains.

Eddie smiles softly. “So, that’s why I’ve been feeling less panicky?”

Richie grins and Eddie can’t help but make his way over to the couch, straddle Richie, and pull him into a fierce hug.

Beverly snorts. “Forgetting something, Rich?”

Eddie tilts his head in confusion.

Richie sighs dramatically. “I also have the ability to read minds.”

Eddie gets a wicked grin on his face but before he can say anything Richie cuts him off. “And if you make one Edward Cullen joke I’ll push you off this couch.”

“Well, I really hope I’m the Bella Swan of the relationship because if you’ve been reading my mind you know entirely way too much,” Eddie says, cheeks slightly red.

Richie chuckles. “Don’t worry, babe, I can’t read any of my soulmate’s minds.”

Eddie pauses, “Soulmates?”

Richie’s face drops and Eddie catches Stan rolling his eyes before saying. “Cat’s outta the bag now, huh?”

Richie cups Eddie’s face in his hands and Eddie is delighted at the fact that his large hands easily cover the expanse of his face.

“When someone is cursed with eternal life they’re able to see how many pieces their soul is split into, all of us, including you, have seven pieces and six soulmates,” Richie explains softly.

Eddie inhales. “We’re all soulmates?”

Richie nods and Eddie feels like crying. “When I first met you guys I felt like I finally found a home, and I thought I was crazy for loving all of you so easily.”

“Awhhh,” Beverly croons, “we love you too, Eddie.”

Eddie leans his head into one of Richie palms, his eyebrows knitted together. “It makes sense because I feel like my soul is attached to each of you, but aren’t soulmates supposed to be like your romantic partner?”

Richie smiles. “That’s called a twin flame; your twin flame is the person or people whose souls mirror your own.”

Eddie bites his lip. “So, Ben and Bev and Mike, Stan, and Bill are twin flames?”

“Yes,” Richie confirms, “and so are we.”

Eddie smiles so wide his cheeks hurt.

-

  
They’re laying in Richie’s bed together that night. Eddie’s exhausted from all the new information swirling around in his head. A part of him thinks he’ll wake up the next day and it’ll have been a dream. Richie’s soft voice pulls him out of his own thoughts.

“That’s why I wouldn’t sleep with you.”

“Huh?” Eddie asks, not having heard all of what Richie said.

“I wouldn’t sleep with you because I can’t control myself,” Richie explains.

“What do you mean you can’t control yourself?” Eddie asks.

“Your scent,” Richie whispers, “it’s absolutely intoxicating to me, it took me two weeks before I could be around it without my fangs immediately coming out.”

 

”What do I smell like?” 

Richie slides a hand under his shirt. “It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever smelt, baby, it’s indescribable.”

“So that’s why you freaked out when we first met?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah,” he admits, “If Bev hasn’t been there I probably would have been all over you.”

Eddie nods. “How’d you get used to my scent without me noticing though?”

“Beverly gave me that gray crop top of yours,” he reveals.

“Oh, my God, I’ve been looking for that shirt!”

Richie snorts. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Eddie cuddles closer to Richie’s chest. “Well, you don’t have to worry about hiding anything anymore.” he assures him.

  
-

They’re all out at a Mexican restaurant the next day and Eddie comes to a realization. Why are his friends eating food if all they technically need is blood?

Eddie’s mind is still having a hard time comprehending the fact that all of his friends are literally vampires, so, he tends to have these epiphanies at the most random of times.

“You okay, Eddie?” Stan asks, giving him a concerned look.

Eddie frowns and watches as Mike devours a quesadilla.

“Do you guys have to eat?”

“Huh? Would you prefer we do something else?” Richie asks.

Beverly slow blinks at him. “No, I think he means like because we’re vampires, dummy.”

“Oh, that’d make more sense,” Richie says.

“The answer is technically no, but food tastes the same as when we were alive so it’s literally just for the pleasure of tasting it. If we’re hungry only blood can satisfy us,” Bill explains.

Eddie’s still frowning. “Well, what if you never ate food and just drank blood? Would you never have to go to the bathroom?”

“Well, that’s the thing, we don’t ever have to go to the bathroom,” Mike says.

Eddie pauses. “Where’s the food go?”

Richie laughs. “I dunno our insides are made of fucking venom maybe it just disintegrates. I mean we’re dead, so, food can’t affect us, we can’t get nutrition from it, and we can’t lose or gain weight.”

“So you have no bodily fluids? What happens if you get like sick or something?”

Stan looks slightly uncomfortable. “First off, we can’t get sick we’re dead, it’s not like we can throw up, we’re basically stuck with saliva, tears, and-“

“Jizz,” Richie cuts him off with a grin.

“Beep beep, Richie, we’re eating here asshole,” Beverly gripes.

“Got anymore questions, cutie?”

Eddie quickly shakes his head.

-

Eddie’s sitting on Richie lap as the TV blares in the background. They had intended to watch a movie together while the others were out feeding, but that only lasted all of fifteen minutes.

Eddie purposefully grinds his hips down into Richie’s as he enthusiastically kisses him back.

Eddie shudders as Richie kisses down his throat, and tilts his neck to the side to give Richie better access. The second he bares his neck Richie’s grip on him intensifies.

Eddie whimpers as he feels Richie’s fangs graze his skin. “I want to go down on you,” Eddie blurts out.

Richie pulls off his neck. “Well, how can I refuse an offer like that?”

Eddie grins and sinks to his knees in front of Richie and quickly gets to work on his belt. Richie lifts his hips to help Eddie pull his jeans and boxers down his thighs.

Eddie’s breath hitches when he sees Richie’s dick for the first time. He reaches out and wraps a hand around him and revels in the fact that he can’t fit his hand around it’s entirety. Richie made his fair share of dick jokes, but Eddie just never expected them to all be so true.

He’d found out pretty quickly in college that he had a thing for being filled to the brim. Luckily for Eddie he’s so small that finding something big enough to fill him up isn’t all that hard. But Richie is big, even for Eddie’s standards.

“Have I ever told you I’m a total size queen?” Eddie says seriously.

Richie bursts out laughing. “Well, it looks like you’re in luck then.”

Eddie’s smirks, leans forward and licks a stripe up his entire length before wrapping his lips around the head. He swirls his tongue around the tip before running the barbell on his tongue across the slit.

Richie hisses and tangles a hand in Eddie’s hair. “Fuck, I love that piercing.”

Eddie relaxes his throat and sinks down as far as he can. He wraps his hand around what little he can’t reach and begins bobbing his head.

“Fuck, baby, so pretty for me,” Richie praises.

Eddie moans around his cock, causing Richie to tighten his grip in his hair. He notices Richie holding back from bucking his hips up.

Eddie carefully pulls off. “Richie, please fuck my mouth.”

“Fuck,” he curses, “what wet dream of mine did you walk out of?”

“Please, I want it rough,” he begs.

Richie takes his hair in a firm grip and pulls him down on his cock. Eddie let’s him guide his head up and down, before bringing his hands up to Richie’s thighs and digging his nails in.

Richie forces him down further and begins smoothly fucking in and out of Eddie’s mouth.

“You have such pretty lips, baby,” he whispers, “fit so well around my cock.”

Eddie feels tears gather at the corners of his eyes as Richie’s cock hits the back of his throat. Usually Eddie would find the amount of spit on his lips gross, but it makes Richie slide into his mouth so much easier.

“Fuck, you’re so desperate for it, baby, can’t get enough of it, huh?”

Eddie digs his nails further into Richie’s thighs and hallows his cheeks at Richie’s words.

“Fuck, I’m close, Eds,” Richie moans.

His hips fuck into his mouth a little more erratically, and Eddie enthusiastically runs the cold metal of his tongue piercing up the underside of Richie’s cock.

“Such a little cumsult aren’t you, baby?” Richie teases.

Eddie pulls off. “Just for you,” he says.

Richie groans, holding Eddie’s head back by his hair when he tries to take Richie into his mouth again. Eddie whines and Richie laughs a his petulance.

“God, you want it so bad don’t you? You want my come?”

Eddie readily nods his head. “Please, I want to taste you.”

Richie roughly shoves him back down on his cock. “Gonna fill you up.”

Eddie tenses up, hit by the force of his own orgasm. Cheeks reddening slightly by the fact that he got off just on Richie’s words and sucking his dick.

“Fuck, gonna come, baby,” Richie warns, forcing Eddie’s head down on his cock and holding it there as he reaches his orgasm.

Eddie swallows greedily as Richie’s come hits the back of his throat. He slides off with a satisfying pop once Richie finishes.

Richie leans his head back on the couch and Eddie buries his face in Richie’s thigh.

“You want me to return the favor, love?” Richie asks softly, running his fingers through Eddie’s hair.

“Ialreadycame,” Eddie mumbles into Richie’s thigh.

Richie clearly heard him because he grins. “What was that, Eds?”

Eddie pinches his thigh. “You heard me, asshole.”

Richie laughs, standing up to and pull his pants and boxers back up. “You’re so cute.”

Eddie doesn’t move from the floor, but sticks his tongue out.

He looks up to Richie’s face and realizes just how much more broad and tall Richie is compared to him.

“You make me feel so small,” Eddie says.

Richie smirks. “I think you like how much bigger I am than you.”

Eddie stands up on shaky legs. “I plead the fifth,” he responds.

-

Eddie finds himself having a lot more questions.

It’s at 3 A.M. one night that he suddenly wakes up and can’t go back to sleep.

The minute he sits up in bed Richie’s eyes are open and staring at him.

“What’s wrong?” Richie asks.

“Huh? Oh, nothing I just woke up and can’t fall back asleep.”

Richie places a soft kiss on his forehead and and pulls him into his chest.

Eddie tries not to think about how he can’t hear Richie’s heart beat.

“Hey, Richie?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you...do you even have to sleep?”

“I mean we can’t die from sleep deprivation, but it’s definitely refreshing, I feel more on top of my game when I sleep,” Richie explains.

Eddie hums and nods, wrapping himself further around Richie.

Richie smiles softly and pulls the covers around them.

-

Eddie’s laying on Richie’s chest, tracing patterns on his skin. It’s a lazy afternoon and Eddie’s just gotten back from his morning class.

“Richie?”

“Yes, love?” Richie responds carding his hands through his hair.

“You know you can fuck me, right?”

They had done other things, of course, but when it came to actually having sex Richie seemed reluctant and Eddie was starting to get antsy.

Richie nearly chokes on his spit at Eddie’s bluntness. “Where’s this coming from?”

Eddie frowns. “You always stop it before it gets that far, and I know you said you were scared of your fangs coming out, but I’ve seen them now.”

Richie runs a hand down his face. “It’s not just my fangs coming out, it’s the possibility of biting you.”

Eddie shrugs. “I don’t mind, who doesn't have a good biting kink?”

“I could kill you,” Richie says seriously.

“I trust you,” Eddie fires back.

“Okay, fine, but whatever you do, just please don’t bare your neck,” Richie warns.

“Why? Because it drives you crazy?” Eddie teases.

“I’m serious, Eds.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Fine, I promise I won’t bare my neck.”

-

Eddie can tell Richie’s holding back.

Eddie’s on top of him and Richie’s pumping his cock so perfectly in and out of him, and he can’t get enough of the stretch. But Richie’s thrusts are extremely controlled, like he’s focusing all his energy on not ravaging Eddie.

Eddie watches Richie’s fangs dig into his lower lip, his eyes are locked on Eddie’s neck.

He misses Richie’s stupid trashmouth praising him like he does when Eddie’s going down on him.

He wants to yell at Richie to just bite him but his boyfriend had seemed extremely uncomfortable with the idea and Eddie couldn’t bring himself to push Richie’s boundaries.

Eddie forces the thoughts away and instead focuses on the slide of Richie’s cock in and out of him.

-

Eddie’s in the kitchen with Richie in the early morning. He’s sitting on the counter as Richie cooks up some eggs.

Eddie hops down and walks across the tile to the cabinets. “I’m gonna get some apple juice, you want anything to drink?”

Richie pauses. “Um, I have to feed, so, I’m gonna have whatever blood in the fridge.”

“Okay,” Eddie says easily, not wanting to make Richie feel uncomfortable. His boyfriend always seemed strained when talking about feeding.

Eddie climbs back onto the counter in order to reach the glasses on the top shelf.

His fingers brush one but he fails to get a good grip on it. He cringes as it topples to the floor, shattering.

“Fuck me,” Eddie curses softly and slides off the counter, careful not to step on any shards.

He bends down and gathers up the largest pieces of glass.

“Eddie be care-”

He yelps and drops them to the floor when one slices his finger.

“Fuck,” Eddie hisses as he watches a drop of blood pave it’s way down his finger.

Before he can even process it Richie has his hips pinned to the counter and is holding his wrist in a bruising grip.

Richie’s eyes are bright red, and he’s baring his fangs as he closely watches the blood dripping down Eddie’s finger.

Suddenly Richie’s being thrown backwards and Mike’s pushing Eddie behind him.

Richie easily recovers, rolling to his feet.

“Fuck you, Mike,” Richie growls.

Bill and Stan run in from the hallway and each grab onto Richie before he can lunge. At first he struggles but soon admits defeat, realizing he can’t wrestle out of both their grips.

“Richie, you id-idiot, you a-aren’t thinking!” Bill yells. His stutter revealing how stressed he is.

“Richie?” Eddie whispers, peeking around Mike’s side like a little kid.

“Eds?” he says softly, the sneer he was giving Mike drops from his face.

“Fuck, Eds,” he says with more clarity in his voice.

Eddie heart hurts when he notices the amount of guilt on Richie’s face.

-

Richie’s sitting up against the headboard of his bed with Eddie in his lap. His arms are wrapped tightly around the smaller boy.

“Eds, I’m so fucking sorry,” Richie says again.

“Shhhh, Chee, I told you it’s okay,” Eddie soothes.

“But it’s not!” he protests, “I could’ve-i could’ve hurt you.”

Eddie presses a kiss to Richie temple. “Baby, you have to understand that I’m human, I’m so fragile compared to you.”

“I know that, and I want to protect you,” Richie says sincerely.

“Richie, you can’t protect me if you can’t handle yourself around my blood,” Eddie points out.

“But you don’t bleed that often!” Richie disagrees.

“Last week I was petting a dog in the street and he got excited and jumped on me and accidentally scraped my forearm,” he reveals, “you would’ve lost your mind if you were there.”

“Eds...” Richie whispers. He knows he can’t deny it.

He desperately wants to be able to control himself, but smelling Eddie’s blood had sent him into a frenzy. He had wanted nothing more than to taste it’s sweetness.

“I want you to bite me,” Eddie says firmly.

Richie tenses, “Baby, no.”

“Richie, you have to get used to it, you have to be able to control yourself around my blood.”

“If I hurt you-“

“You won’t,” Eddie assures him, “I trust you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up it’s ya boi and i’m back w smut
> 
> anyway  
> PLEasE leave me a comment or some feedback bc i run solely off that sweet sweet validation 
> 
>  
> 
> also sorry for any mistakes i’m hella dyslexic and don’t got no beta
> 
> also i totally stole stan’s power from that ‘losers as kinetic abilities’ things by eddie-and-richie on tumblr lmao it was just so fitting


	4. My Boyfriend's Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory revealed: Richie's

Richie feeds Eddie a piece of the cookie dough he’s currently rolling into spheres. Eddie gratefully accepts it, going as far as to grab Richie’s wrist before he can pull away and licking his fingers. Eddie smirks and Richie’s not even surprised by his boyfriend’s teasing at this point.

 

He begrudgingly ignores his urge to fuck Eddie on the kitchen counter.

 

They had put the subject of biting off for a while after Richie agreed to it. Eddie seems momentarily sated after speaking about the subject which leaves Richie relieved. Just the thought of biting Eddie and tasting his blood makes Richie feel like he’s losing control. 

 

“Eds, your birthday’s next month, right?” he asks, attempting to clear his mind.

 

“Yep, March sixteenth,” he confirms, “I’ll finally be able to drink!”

 

“Legally that is,” Richie snickers, “God, I can’t believe how young you are.”

 

Eddie sticks his tongue out. “Yeah, I know, really robbing the cradle aren’t ya, Rich?” he teases, he then suddenly pauses for a moment before frowning.

 

Richie raises an eyebrow. “What’s up?” 

 

“I just realized I don’t know how old you actually are! You’ve only said that your birthday is in June and that you were turned at twenty-five,” Eddie explains.

 

Richie laughs at Eddie’s sudden epiphany. “Well, I think my birthday’s in June, I was born in the summer that’s all I know.”

 

“Wait, how do you not know your own birthday?”

 

Richie shrugs. “My family was poor, none of us really knew how to read or write.”

 

Eddie gapes. “Wait, what year were you born?!”

 

“1775,” Richie responds nonchalantly.

 

“Wait, so that makes you-“

 

“243,” Richie says, cutting him off.

 

“Wow, you’re really robbing the cradle then, huh?” Eddie teases.

 

Richie wrinkles his nose. “Don’t make it weird.”

 

Eddie bursts out laughing. “No, it’s kinda like you’re my sugar daddy,” he says waggling his eyebrows.

 

Richie gives him a wicked grin. “Is this your way of saying you want me to be your daddy?”

 

Eddie’s cheeks go bright red. “Don’t make it weird,” he grumbles, mocking Richie.

 

Richie chuckles at Eddie’s embarrassment, offering him more cookie dough as a peace offering.

 

-

 

Richie’s standing in the doorway of Eddie’s apartment after his boyfriend texted him to come over. He didn’t really give and explanation, but then again Richie didn’t really need one to tempt him over to Eddie’s. He has a key to the apartment, but it doesn’t really matter considering Richie can’t enter someone’s house unless he’s given permission. So, he’s stuck standing in the doorway like a dumbass until his boyfriend lets him in.

 

“Eddie,” Richie calls, “you know I can’t come in unless you invite me.”

 

Eddie giggles and walks out of his kitchen and towards the door. “You know, out of all the myths that are true I never expected this to be one of them.”

 

Richie sticks out his tongue. “Just let me in.”

 

Eddie tugs on his hand. “Alright, alright, come in.”

 

Richie allows his boyfriend to pull him into the kitchen where he sees a pot of mac n cheese and a half drank bottle of wine.

 

Richie snorts. “Wait are you wine drunk? What are you, a 40-year-old suburban mom?”

 

“No, I’m _gay_ ,” Eddie responds, “and I invited you over here to get wine drunk with me and have sex.”

 

Richie laughs. “Wow, you sure know your way to a man’s heart.”

 

“Wait, can you even get drunk?” Eddie asks completely derailing the conversation.

 

“I mean yeah, but like the effects are lessened and like we can sober up pretty fast,” Richie explains.

 

“So, it’s like basically all the good things about being drunk?” 

 

“Yeah, we also don’t get hangovers,” Richie brags.

 

“Good, because someone’s gonna have to take care of me when I wake up tomorrow feeing like death,” Eddie says, taking another swig.

 

Richie softly pushes Eddie’s hair out of his eyes, “So, I guess I’m sleeping over then?”

 

Eddie pulls him into a chaste kiss. “Yes, you’re not allowed to leave.”

 

Richie presses a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

-

 

Richie pulls Eddie closer to him as the younger boy traces a finger delicately around a tattoo on Richie’s ribs. 

 

“What do they mean?” Eddie asks, breaking the silence.

 

“What does what mean, love?” 

 

“Your tattoos,” Eddie clarifies, “they all have meanings right? I got mine because the gladiolus flower represents strength and I wanted to feel like I wasn’t as weak and delicate as I’d always been told.” 

 

“I really hate your mother,” Richie states, knowing Eddie’s referencing his shitty childhood.

 

Eddie gives him a sad smile. “Guess that makes two of us.”

 

“What one do you wanna know about first?” Richie asks, sitting up to allow all of his tattoos to be on display.

 

Eddie points to the one on his upper back. It’s a simplistic drawing of the New York skyline.

 

 “We just recently moved back to New York, but this isn’t the first time I’ve lived here. No matter how many places I live New York always feels the most like home,” Richie says.

 

“I love this city; it was my first taste of freedom,” Eddie says softly.

 

“It’s easy to fall in love with a city so beautiful,” he agrees.

 

“What about this one?” he says, tracing the two theater masks under Richie’s right shoulder blade that were drawn in a captivating sketch design.

 

“That one’s pretty simple,” Richie admits, “I’m very in tune with emotions and can control other people’s so I thought the two theatre masks were fitting.”

 

Eddie shivers. “They’re beautifully drawn, but I find the faces kinda disturbing.”

 

“Just make sure you don’t fuck me from behind, then,” Richie jokes.

 

Eddie snorts. “Got it, strictly missionary,” he quips.

 

Eddie has actually yet to top in their relationship yet which makes sense considering that Eddie prefers to bottom. However, Richie is no stranger to taking it up the ass, and by the heavy blush on Eddie’s cheeks he can tell the idea interests him somewhat.

 

“And this one?” Eddie says, pointing to the watercolor Ying Yang symbol on Richie shoulder.

 

Richie pushes his inappropriate thoughts to the back of his head before answering. “I had a point in my life where I needed a reminder that there’s some balance in the world, to every good there’s a bad and to every bad a good; or at least that’s how I like to look at it.”

 

Eddie nods. “It’s a good mentality to have,” he says before crawling towards Richie’s front. 

 

“I like this one,” Eddie says, placing a hand on the detailed compass that is just above Richie’s hip, “It’s pretty.”

 

“That one has a story to it,” he reveals, “I’ve always had a horrible sense of direction, and I get lost pretty often, so, Stan liked to joke that I might as well get a compass tattooed on my body, so, I did but I told him it was only so I could always find way back home to him and the rest of our family.”

 

“Awh,” Eddie coos, “that’s so sweet.”

 

Richie chuckles. “Not as sweet as you.”

 

Eddie lovingly rolls his eyes before tracing the delicate words that are etched into the left side of his ribs. “‘I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart,’” Eddie quotes, “that’s E.E. Cummings right?”

 

Richie nods. “I always found it very fitting, I feel like I’ve always had a piece of the six of you with me even before I found any of you, it’s what got me through some rough times.” 

 

Eddie nods in understanding. “I felt like I found something I didn’t know I was missing when I met you.”

 

“Awh, Eds, don’t go all mushy on me!” Richie teases.

 

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie retorts before grabbing Richie’s left arm, “I think this one’s self-explanatory,” he says, studying the simplistic guitar on Richie inner forearm.

 

“Yeah,” Richie agrees, “that was to express my love for music.”

 

Eddie nods, focusing on his favorite tattoo of Richie’s next. It’s a beautiful depiction five different flowers all entwined on the right side of Richie’s ribs. “This one’s my favorite,” Eddie admits skimming his fingers across the sensitive skin.

 

Richie smiles. “It’s one of my favorites too, I got a flower tattooed for each of my soulmates a while back, it’s probably time I add the last flower.”

 

Eddie grins. “And what flower would that be?”

 

“I was think a gladiolus would be fitting,” he responds.

 

Eddie cups his face and places a sweet kiss on his lips. In retaliation Richie pulls Eddie on his lap before laying back.

 

“Your curiosity satiated now?” 

 

Eddie frowns slightly, grabbing his right arm. “You have one more,” he says, rotating Richie’s arm to explore the tattoo that covered the entirety of his forearm. The dark, simplistic black trees that started at Richie’s wrist and stretched upward interested him.

 

Richie gives him a sad smile. “That one has a pretty dark backstory.”

 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Eddie assures him.

 

Richie shakes his head. “You’ve told me about your past, and I think you deserve to know this about me. I think it’s important to acknowledge where you’ve come from, and for a while after I was turned I hid myself away in the forest, I didn’t know how to control the monster that I had become.”

 

“Richie,” Eddie says sadly.

 

He shakes his head at Eddie’s upset tone. “It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come.”

 

Eddie brings one of Richie’s hands up to his cheeks and leans into his palm. “Was no one there to teach you when you turned?” 

 

Richie brushes his thumb across Eddie’s cheek lovingly. “I didn’t want to live forever, I wanted to grow old, I wanted kids, and I just wanted a normal life.”

 

“What happened?” Eddie asks tentatively.

 

Richie sighs. “I was born in England to a family of poor farmers, I had eleven siblings and we all worked to keep the farm going. My life was basically planned out for me the minute I was born because moving up in social classes was unheard of.”

 

“But your life didn’t go as planned.”

 

“That it didn’t,” Richie agrees, “it was turned upside down by this big vampire clan back in the day, they killed hundreds of people and I was just another one of their victims; they snatched me up when I went into town one night to pick something up for my mother,” he reveals.

 

Eddie furrows his eyebrows. “But they didn’t kill you, at least not in the traditional sense,” he points out.

 

“I used to wish they did,” Richie mumbles, “they didn’t kill me immediately, they wanted to see how much blood they could take from me each day before I wasted away. It was game to them, a new source of fun. Living forever bores some people, I guess. The worst part is they didn’t even tie me up or watch me to make sure I didn’t escape, they knew if they took enough blood I wouldn’t have the energy or will to try and get away.”

 

Richie looks up at Eddie who’s on the verge of tears at this point. “Richie, I’m so sorry.”

 

Richie gently wipes the tear sliding down his face. “It’s okay it’s not your fault, you haven’t had an easy life either, love.”

 

Eddie sniffles. “I don’t understand, why did they turn you?”

 

“Elizabeth—the vampire who turned me, wanted a new plaything so she convinced her clan to let her keep me,” Richie explains, “I was stuck with her for half a century before I worked up the will to escape, they held up the stereotype of us being blood sucking freaks, we were monsters.”

 

Eddie shakes his head furiously. “You’re not a monster, Richie.”

 

Richie doesn’t meet his eyes. “I lived off human blood when I was with her, I had no idea how to control myself, so I hid myself away.”

 

“I don’t care what you had to do to get here,” Eddie says firmly, “that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

 

“It should,” Richie says.

 

Eddie turns his head and places a kiss on Richie’s palm. “I don’t think I could ever stop loving you, our souls are connected, you’re stuck with me forever.” 

 

Richie’s pulls Eddie down into a tight hug. “I love you too, Eds.”

 

-

 

It’s a week later when they’re making out in Richie’s bed that Eddie confronts him about biting again.

 

Eddie’s under him with his legs hooked around Richie’s hips. Usually Eddie rides him when they have sex so he doesn’t end up baring his neck and setting Richie off, but it seems Eddie has different plans this time.

 

Eddie pulls back. “I want you to fuck me like this,” he says breathlessly, “and I want you to bite me.”

 

Richie’s grip tightens on Eddie’s hips at the mention of biting. “You sure, Eds?” 

 

“Yes, yes, I’m more than sure,” Eddie responds.

 

Eddie momentarily sits up to pull off his shirt and Richie follows suit, removing his sweats as he rifles through the bedside drawer for lube. They rarely use a condom unless Eddie doesn’t want to be messy. After all, it’s not like Richie can transmit or catch any diseases.

 

He looks back to Eddie who has his hand placed on his lower stomach, toying with the band of those stupid tiny shorts.

 

Richie has the sudden intense urge to be inside on him; to be completely surrounded by him in the most intimate sense.

 

He crawls back on the bed and tugs off Eddie’s shorts and underwear in one go. Without a word he spreads his legs, giving Richie better access. Richie quickly spreads lube on his fingers and brings his hand down between Eddie’s legs and circles his hole. Eddie immediately pulls him into a kiss as he’s worked open, reaching a hand between them to stroke himself.

 

“I need you to bite me,” Eddie gasps as Richie slides in a finger, “I want you to use me, Richie.”

 

Richie growls and hastily pushes in a second finger. Eddie moans at the sudden stretch. Usually Richie takes his sweet time opening up Eddie. He’s just so _small_ and Richie can’t help worrying about him. Richie nibbles at Eddie’s collar bone as he scissors his fingers.

 

“Richie, hurry-“ Eddie begins to complain but his cut off by his own moan after Richie crooks his fingers in just the right way.

 

“Don’t rush me baby, I don’t wanna hurt you,” Richie reprimands.

 

Eddie ignores him and rocks back onto Richie’s fingers. When he can’t convince Richie after a series of whines he decides to play dirty. 

 

Richie’s fangs are out the second Eddie bares his neck, and he knows it, giving Richie a smug look.

 

Richie pulls his fingers out of Eddie which earns him a whine and a confused look.

 

Richie leans in close to Eddie’s ear as he lubes up his own cock. “You that desperate for it, baby, that needy? Don’t even care that’ll it’ll hurt?” 

 

Eddie let’s out a drawn out moan as he feels the head of Richie’s cock line up with his hole.

 

“Maybe I want it to hurt,” Eddie says just to be a brat.

 

“Careful what you wish for,” Richie taunts, thrusting in all the way to the hilt. Eddie gasps at the sudden intrusion and digs his nails into Richie’s shoulders. He lets out high-pitched breathy moans as Richie sets a quick pace. There was a definite burn as Richie slid into him, but Eddie finds himself addicted to the stretch.

 

“Ah, feels so big, fuck you reach so deep, Richie,” Eddie cries.

 

“Look at you, baby,” Richie chuckles, “so tiny under me, my cock’s stretching you so wide, huh?” 

 

Eddie nods his head and places a hand on his flat stomach which catches Richie’s attention.

 

“I can feel it, Chee,” Eddie says and Richie is mesmerized by how taken apart Eddie looks. “I can feel you,” he repeats.

 

Richie laughs. “I’d sure hope so.”

 

“No,” Eddie whines, “I can _feel_ you.”

 

Richie groans when Eddie suddenly presses down on his lower stomach because he can fucking feel the pressure from inside him.

 

Richie pulls Eddie’s hand from his stomach and stills his hips. Eddie whines and clenches around him, but Richie’s eyes are glued to his stomach. Without warning he pulls all the way out and roughly pushes back in. He moans when he sees the slight bulge on Eddie’s flat stomach.

 

“Full,” Eddie whines.

 

And Richie’s captivated by how wrecked Eddie looks, like all he can think about is getting fucked.

 

Richie picks back up his pace, roughly fucking into Eddie and nearly loses his shit when Eddie immediately places his hand back on his lower stomach and intermittently presses down.

 

“Bite me,” Eddie begs, “please, please, please, I wanna feel it, Richie.”

 

Richie knows he’s close to losing it, his fangs have been out for a while and he wants nothing more than to ravage Eddie. It won’t take much more begging before he throws all caution out the window.

 

“Please, please,” and Eddie looks hysterical at this point, and Richie’s slightly concerned about how stressed he’s become.

 

“I got you, baby,” Richie promises, “just tell me if it hurts.

 

Eddie nods his head and Richie licks his lips trying to calm himself.

 

He tangles a hand in Eddie’s hair and pulls his head to the side. Eddie’s breath hitches as Richie hesitantly pierces the delicate skin of his neck with his fangs.

 

“It’s okay, Richie, let go,” Eddie urges.

 

Richie stills for a moment a at his command before he tightens his grip on Eddie’s hair and begins fervently drinking the blood that spills from Eddie’s neck.

 

He feels a part of himself emerge that he’s not all that comfortable with, but it’s hard to think about control when he’s tasting the sweetest thing in existence. He can’t imagine ever drinking anything else’s blood. Nothing could ever compare to how good Eddie tastes.

 

He pulls back after a moment and Eddie catches the wild look in his bright red eyes. Fresh blood is smeared across his lips and dripping down his chin.

 

“You taste divine,” he whispers.

 

Eddie eyes the droplet of blood trailing down his neck and scoops it up with his finger. Richie watches intensely as Eddie brings his blood covered finger to Richie’s mouth. His tongue quickly darts out to clean off Eddie’s finger.

 

“Keep going,” Eddie encourages.

 

Richie doesn’t hesitate to dive back between the juncture of his shoulder and neck and greedily lap at the blood pooling at the bit mark. 

 

Richie continues his brutal pace as he drinks from Eddie’s neck. It doesn’t take long before Eddie’s coming onto his own stomach untouched, clenching around Richie’s cock.

 

“In me, in me, Richie, I want it in me,” Eddie babbles.

 

Richie growls, continuing to snap his hips forward. It only takes a few more thrusts before he’s spilling into Eddie, who gasps in pleasure at the sensation, grinding back onto Richie’s cock. Richie continues to lap at the blood that’s slowly dribbling out of the bite mark on Eddie’s neck.

 

“You can keep feeding,” Eddie whispers, eyes still a little glazed over.

 

Richie nods. “Do you want me to pull out?”

 

Eddie quickly shakes his head, looking ready to cry at the prospect. “I need the stretch.”

 

“Fuck, I just rearranged your guts and you still can’t get enough, huh Eds?”

 

“Never,” Eddie whispers and Richie’s surprised the comment didn’t earn him a slap.

 

-

 

It took Richie all of two minutes of coming back from his frenzy to recognize Eddie had been in subspace. Richie talks to him about it, and Eddie’s slightly embarrassed to hear how out of it he truly was, but they discuss it, and set up ground rules and a safe word. After that feeding from Eddie becomes a regular occurrence which Eddie wholeheartedly enjoys, mostly because it gives him a surefire way to tease his boyfriend.

 

All Eddie has to do is bare his neck, and Richie is on his knees, eyes red and fangs out. Not that Eddie’s ever too cruel to his boyfriend, but it’s pleasing to see him squirm when Eddie tilts his head to the side.

 

The only problem is Richie’s still absolutely terrified of hurting him, and it only worsened after nearly Eddie passed out last week after Richie drank his blood. It wasn’t really that big a deal, if you ask Eddie; he just need to take it easy and make sure he got proper fluids afterwards. He saw it as learning his body’s limits, next time he knew when to stop. Simple as that.

 

 Richie, however, was having none of it. He’s refused to bite him for a week, and at this point Eddie’s starting to get concerned because Stan mentioned Richie’s been feeding a lot less since he’s started biting Eddie. 

 

He’s noticed how anxious Richie looks: tapping his fingers, eyes constantly darting around the room. It’s aggravating Eddie’s own anxiety if he’s being honest.

 

He decides enough is enough when he catches Richie with constant red eyes despite nothing around to trigger them.

 

“Here,” Eddie says shoving his wrist in Richie’s face, “drink, you’re fucking starving.”

 

Richie’s eyes get that slight wild look in them and Eddie thinks he’s finally got his boyfriend to stop being a stubborn dumbass.

 

“Eds, that’s not a good idea,” Richie says, faking calmness.

 

Eddie groans in frustration. “Rich, your eyes have been red since I waked through the door.”

 

“Eddie, please, I’m not doing this,” he says seriously.

 

Eddie sighs and gets off the couch, trudging to Richie’s room. 

 

He decides he’ll take matters into his own hands. It hadn’t taken him very long to realize how possessive Richie is of him, and Eddie can’t really hold it against him, it’s more of a primal thing than a characteristic. Besides Richie always tries to control himself, but that doesn’t mean Eddie doesn’t know how to push his buttons.

 

Some of his college friends invited him out that night for drinks and Eddie had turned him down to hang out with Richie. However, right about now Eddie could use a few drinks and Richie always wants to accompany him to parties. Eddie has a slight suspicion it’s because he doesn’t want anyone touching what’s his.

 

If he can tempt Richie out of the house with him he can probably rile him up enough to bite him. That’s Eddie’s main goal because with Richie as agitated as he is right now he’s impossible to talk to. The upside is that even if he fails he can drink his frustration away.

 

Eddie pulls on ripped jean shorts and a baggy sweater that barely reached his hips. He utilizes the small amount of makeup he leaves him Richie’s bathroom before walking back out into the living room.

 

Richie spots him from where he’s sulking on the couch.

 

“Where are you going?” he asks the second he sees the way Eddie’s dressed.

 

“Out,” Eddie says.

 

“Out where?” Richie pries.

 

“I’m going to a bar with some friends,” Eddie responds coolly.

 

“Not dressed like that you’re not,” Richie growls.

 

Eddie looks at him incredulously.!“You can’t tell me what to wear! I’m my own person, Richie. Either you can come with me or you can shut the fuck up.”

 

Eddie’s never seen Richie step so far out of line, and he’s almost more concerned than angry because it means Richie really isn’t in the right state of mind at the moment.

 

Richie huffs and walks to his room before slamming the door. Eddie cringes at the now broken frame. He’ll deal with it later, right now all he wants to do is have a little fun and get a lotta drunk.

 

-

 

 

Eddie’s not too close to his college friends, but they’re still decent company, and definitely know how to have good time.

 

He’s closest to his classmate Hazel, she’s the only one who knows about his past and was the one who held his hand as he got his tattoo.

 

“Where’s your shadow?” Hazel asks as he approaches her at the bar.

 

Hazel knows Richie from him following Eddie to outings, so, it’s not shocking that she’d be surprised to see him alone.

 

“Being a stubborn asshole,” Eddie responds, stealing her shot and downing it.

 

“Damn, trouble in paradise?” she asks.

 

“You could say that,” Eddie agrees.

 

“Wanna get shitfaced and dance with me?” 

 

“Fuck yes,” Eddie says, flagging down the bar tender. 

 

-

 

Eddie loses Hazel near the end of the night and decides to go outside for some fresh air. The club feels stuffy and Eddie knows he’s had more than enough to drink. He’s not drunk off his ass by any means but he did have a few shots at the beginning of the night, meaning he should probably head back to his apartment considering he’s not too keen on relying on one of his soulmates to drag his sorry ass back to their apartment. 

 

He pulls out his phone to text Hazel that he’s heading home. He’s in the middle of typing his message when someone stumbles through the side entrance he’d just come out of. It leads to an alleyway, but it’s well-lit enough that Eddie doesn’t feel too uncomfortable.

 

The man leans up against the concrete wall next to Eddie and pulls out a cigarette as Eddie hits send.

 

“How you doing, cutie?” the man asks.

 

“Fine,” Eddie responds, avoiding eye contact, “just heading back inside.”

 

“Now that’s not a very polite thing to do when someone’s trying to strike up a conversation,” he chides.

 

“Listen, I should be getting back to my friends,” he says.

 

Eddie feels his stomach drop when the man grabs his wrist firmly. “You’ll go back inside when I’m done talking to you.”

 

Eddie tries to wrestle out of the stranger’s grip, but he’s quickly slammed against the wall.

 

He laughs. “You shouldn’t wear shorts that short if you don’t want the attention, sweetheart.”

 

“Don’t,” Eddie whispers when he feels a hand slide up his thigh. Eddie’s terrified, the guy is bigger than him so straight up trying to over power him is useless. But Eddie knows how to knee someone in the crotch or throw an elbow or even a punch. He just might come out of the altercation with a few bruises. 

 

Before the stranger can open his mouth or Eddie can decide on a plan of attack he’s ripped away from Eddie and smashed onto the concrete at an inhuman speed. Eddie blinks, stunned by the sudden movement before he looks to his side. 

 

Richie has the man pinned to the wall, hand around his neck and fangs clearly out.

 

“You touched something of mine, give me one good reason I should rip your fucking throat out,” Richie growls.

 

The man doesn’t answer, most likely because Richie’s choking him out. His eyes are locked onto Richie’s fangs and Eddie’s never seem someone look so scared. Although he can’t blame him considering his world is in the middle of being turned upside down.

 

Eddie expects Richie to let the guy go or rough him up, but the absolutely wild look in Richie’s eyes makes him think otherwise. As much as Eddie wants to hurt the man who probably would have assaulted him he can’t bear to watch Richie kill someone.

 

Richie grabs the man’s hair roughly and exposes his neck and Eddie has no doubt he’s going in for the kill.

 

“Richie!” Eddie screams, and he immediately snaps his head to face him.

 

He’s never seen Richie with such uncontrollable bloodlust.

 

“Richie come here, please, I need you,” Eddie begs.

 

Richie releases the man’s hair before looking him right in the eye as he ruthlessly punches him in the stomach. Eddie cringes at how fast the man doubles over. Richie looks at him with disgust before grabbing him by the jaw so he’s looking into his dark red eyes.

 

“Run,” he whispers letting the man drop to the ground.

 

Eddie watches the man scramble to his feet and sprint down the alley as fast as he can, probably functioning off peer adrenaline at this point.

 

Richie’s hunched in on himself and heaving ragged breaths like he’s trying to regain control of himself. He turns to face Eddie with a predatory look and that’s when he realizes Richie’s not snapping out of it.

 

“Drink,” Eddie urges, shoving his forearm into Richie’s face.

 

Richie immediately pulls Eddie into his embrace digs into the tantalizing veins on his wrist. Eddie hisses at the initial sting before focusing on Richie. 

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Richie,” Eddie whispers, bringing a hand up to card through Richie’s hair.

 

Once Richie pulls back Eddie feels slightly lightheaded, but his mind is clear enough to focus on Richie. His eyes are their normal dark blue and his fangs have receded, leaving him with blood messily smeared across his jaw.

 

Eddie rests his head on Richie’s chest, “Please,” he says softly, “take me home.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop whoop ur boy is cooking up some dramaaa--and smut which i hope you enjoyed
> 
> also let me just say ur support keeps me going 100%, i almost deleted this fic but i went back and read the comments and chilled the fuck out!!
> 
> so please leave me feedback (and even some constructive criticism) 
> 
> and sorry for mistakes its unbeated and im dyslexic asf 
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure
> 
> also here's what Richie and Eddie's tattoos look like http://happytreasure.tumblr.com/post/173061394183/chapter-4-of-only-the-good-die-young-is-out-my


	5. Just Us Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory revealed: Stan's

Richie’s cradling Eddie in his arms the second he gets him home and into his bed.

 

Eddie’s stomach clenches as he listens to Richie’s distressed, ragged breathing. His boyfriend is on top of him, almost as if he’s shielding Eddie, arms wrapped tightly around him with his face pressed into the crook of his neck.

 

“Richie, it’s okay baby, I’m right here,” Eddie coos, holding him tightly, one hand softly running through his messy dark curls.

 

“No, it’s not!” Richie protests.

 

“I’m okay, Richie, I’m not hurt,” Eddie assures him.

 

Eddie feels a wetness against his neck and quickly realizes Richie’s crying. “You couldn’t hear what he was thinking,” Richie whispers, holding Eddie even tighter.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I could hear what he was thinking, I wanted to gouge his fucking eyes the second I read his mind,” Richie growls.

 

“Richie, no, I couldn’t have watched that,” Eddie objects.

 

“He wondered if you were a screamer or if you’d go limp and let him have his way,” Richie chokes out.

 

Eddie gasps. “Chee,” he whimpers, “don’t tell me.”

 

“I’m so sorry, I’m so fucking sorry for being a stubborn idiot,” he apologizes, “I shouldn’t have stopped feeding for so long.”

 

“Why did you stop?” 

 

Richie presses a kiss to his neck. “Because ever since I’ve had you nothing can compare.”

 

“But you won’t always have me to feed from,” Eddie points out.

 

“I know, so I’ll stop being a brat and start feeding regularly,” Richie promises.

 

“Good, you worried me,” Eddie says, “and Richie?”

 

“Yes, Eds?”

 

“l love you,” he whispers.

 

The many unspoken words Eddie wishes he had the strength to say at the moment are conveyed in his confession.

 

Richie’s breath hitches. “I love you, too.”

 

 

-

 

 

He’s walking with Stan through a neighborhood park on a chilly autumn day.

 

“So, how long have you been an accountant for?” Eddie asks conversationally, pulling his jacket tighter around himself.

 

“Since I got a job, so a good few decades,” Stan answers.

 

“Oh, what year were you born?”

 

“1913,” Stan says softly, “I was born in Poland, but my family was Jewish obviously.”

 

Eddie nodded, he had learned of Stan’s faith a while back. “Can you speak Polish?” he asks curiously.

 

“For the most part, but I’m not as fluent as I used to be,” he admits, “my Hebrew is still good though.”

 

“What about Mike and Bill? How long have they been doing their jobs?” he says next.

 

Yesterday Eddie and Richie had a long conversation about the many jobs Richie has had in his long life, his favorite being a radio host. The conversation had piqued his interest in his other soulmates professions.

 

“Mike’s first job was an agricultural scientist, but Bill has had a few jobs outside of being a literature professor. He wrote a few well-known novels anonymously back in the day,” Stan explains.

 

“Oh yeah, Richie mentioned that you guys try to avoid fame or recognition so you leave less of a trace when you disappear,” Eddie responds.

 

“Yeah, it can be hard though, especially when you’re trying to make a name for yourself in your industry. I mean Ben got an offer to be on the face of Time magazine a few decades ago,” Stan reveals.

 

Eddie gasps. “Really? That’s so cool, he never mentioned having been a world-renowned architect or anything.”

 

Stan smiles softly. “He’s humble like that.”

 

“So, if you’ve all been in your respective professions for so long why’d Beverly decide to go back to school again?”

 

“She likes going back to college every few years to study fashion again. She really enjoys learning about it, especially since fashion trends change so often,” Stan answers.

 

“Well, I admire her for that,” Eddie says, “I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back to school once I graduate.” 

 

Stan nods in understanding. “Same, I always became a stressed bitch around finals.”

 

Eddie snorts. “Don’t worry, I’m the same way.”

 

They walk a while more, eventually heading back to the apartment. They pass by several buildings, a few of them run down and full of colorful graffiti. Eddie doesn’t pay it much mind, but when Stan pauses, eyes locked onto one of the gray concrete walls Eddie takes notice.

 

“Stan, what are-“ Eddie falters when he reads the words spray painted on the wall.

 

_Kill all Jews!_

 

_Hitler was right!_

 

_Heli Hitler!_

 

Eddie’s eyes scan over the offending messages which are surrounded by several swastikas. Stan’s hands are balled into fists and his shoulders are shaking.

 

“Stan?” Eddie says tentatively.

 

“Do you think there will ever be a day where they don’t hate me?” 

 

Eddie wishes desperately that he could give Stan an answer. He can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been in Poland in the early 1900s. Eddie didn’t know how Stan died or how he turned, but a horrible cold, sick feeling creeps over him once he adds the age Stan was when he turned to his birth year. Stan would have died in 1936.

 

Smack dab in the middle of the Holocaust.

 

“Oh, Stan,” Eddie whimpers, “I’m so sorry, I hadn’t realized.”

 

Stan turns to him with an unwavering stare. “Finally realized what era I was living in?”

 

“Stan, I’m-“ 

 

Stan let’s out a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry, I didn’t even make it to the camps.”

 

Eddie hurriedly pulls Stan into a comforting hug. “I’m here, I’ll always be here for you, Stan.”

 

“I was in one of the ghettos with my family, it was horrible living, we had nothing but each other,” he begins.

 

Eddie pulls Stan closer to him as he continues. “I was supposed to have a good shot at making it, I was a young, able-bodied male.”

 

“What happened?” Eddie murmurs.

 

“There was a riot,” Stan reveals, “there was outcry after an officer raped a little Jewish girl. We were all yelling and throwing rocks, but they didn’t even pay us any mind, just fired right into the crowd.”

 

Eddie feels Stan bring a hand between them and slowly slide up his jacket. “I took a bullet to the stomach,” he says and Eddie looks down to see a circular scar on his abdomen.

 

Eddie remembers Richie explaining that vampires kept the scars they had in their human life when they turned. It’s why Richie has so many faint bite mark scars along his body, and why every vampire has at least one bite mark scar somewhere on them.

 

“We all scattered as they shot at us, and I somehow managed to stumble into an alleyway. With the amount of blood I was losing I knew I was going to die, so I just slid down the wall and prayed my parents made it out alive,” Stan continues.

 

“I don’t understand, how’d you get turned?” 

 

“As I was bleeding out I looked up and saw one of my few friends from the ghetto, her name was Patty. She’s this incredibly kind-hearted Jewish girl,” Stan says, “my parents would joke that under different circumstances maybe we’d get married.” 

 

Eddie rubbed comforting circles into Stan’s back.

 

Stan sniffles, clearing his throat. “Turns out she was a vampire, she said she couldn’t bear to see me die in that alleyway, so she turned me.”

 

Eddie starts dragging Stan down the street, and he passively follows. 

 

“How’d you meet the others?” he questions.

 

“Patty was part of a resistance of vampires who were rescuing people from camps,” Stan explains, “Richie, Bev, and Ben had been living in Italy when things went to shit, they ended up assisting in the resistance. I met them when Patty brought me back to the others.”

 

 

“I like this Patty,” Eddie compliments, “she did a good thing keeping you around.”

 

“Yeah, I miss her sometimes, I only ever see her every few decades,” Stan says wistfully.

 

Eddie nods pulling Stan into a supermarket and through several isles.

 

“What are we doing?”

 

“Resisting,” Eddie responds grabbing two cans of spray paint and leading Stan to the checkout.

 

“Eddie this is extremely illegal,” Stan hisses as he’s dragged back towards the building they spotted the graffiti on.

 

“Fuck the police,” Eddie deadpans, shaking the bottle of spray paint.

 

Eddie begins writing in big loopy letters overtop the hateful messages. Once he’s done he steps back and admires his work.

 

_FUCK ALL FASCISTS_

 

He turns back to Stan with a mischievous grin. Stan groans, finally giving into Eddie ridiculousness. He gives the other spray paint bottle Eddie had purchased a good shake.

 

 He writes, _Sholem Aleikhem_ , surrounding it with little Stars of David.

 

“It’s means peace upon you,” Stan translates as Eddie observes his work.

 

Eddie smiles and gets to work writing more messages on the building. 

 

-

 

They’re sitting in a secluded corner of an Applebee’s when Beverly makes a proposal.

 

“I think we should introduce Eddie to The Stake,” she says conversationally.

 

Ben purses his lips. “I dunno, Bevvy, that could be a bit dangerous.”

 

“How is steak dangerous?” Eddie asks, clearly confused.

 

“It’s the name of a bar, like the stake that humans think can kill vampires,” Bill explains.

 

“Well, what’s so special about it?” 

 

“It’s the hot spot of New York’s underground world of mythical creatures,” Richie says with a grin.

 

Eddie drops his fork. “Wait, you guys never mentioned anything but vampires being real.”

 

Mike smiles apologetically. “We didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

 

“So, what creatures are real? And when can we go to this bar?” Eddie says, suddenly very interested.

 

“If we go,” Ben corrects, “it could be very dangerous to bring a human.”

 

“We’ll protect him,” Beverly assures him.

 

Ben looks a little unsure. “Richie it’s up to you whether you want to bring him considering you’ll be the one protecting him all night.”

 

“If he smells enough like me there will be no need for protecting because anyone who doesn’t have a death wish already knows not to touch what’s mine,” Richie says seriously.

 

Eddie feels pleasantly warm at Richie’s show of possessiveness. Of course, Eddie knew that this type of behavior could be toxic—they’d talked about it in depth plenty of times, but Eddie made it very clear he liked belonging to Richie. 

 

“Well, I guess it’s settled then!” Beverly cheers.

 

-

 

Eddie wants Richie to have something to show off so he takes his time getting ready.

He had started getting ready in Beverly’s room whenever they all went out, so they can help each other pick out outfits and do each other’s makeup.

 

Sometimes the trio join them, especially Bill and Stan. Although Mike has let Eddie put makeup on him plenty of times. 

 

He wonders what Richie would look like with eyeliner as he finishes off his mascara. He decides that next time he’ll drag Richie into Beverly’s room as well.

 

Beverly helps him pick out an outfit. They decide on ripped jean shorts, a baby pink crop top sweater that dips dangerously low to show off his collar bones, and light yellow converse. He returns the favor, dressing Beverly up in black tights, a high-waisted blue skit, a skin-tight, low-cut black shirt, and knee high boots.

 

“We’re ready!” Eddie calls as he bursts into the living room.

 

He admires Richie’s who’s lazily sprawled out on the couch. His long legs are in black ripped jeans with worn converse on his feet. Eddie notices that the band t-shirt he’s wearing ironically has a wolf howling up at the moon depicted on it. The outfit is completed by Richie’s favorite leather jacket.

 

Richie wolf-whistles when he spots his boyfriend entering the living room. Eddie skips up to him, crawling into his lap.

 

“Hi, baby,” Richie says softly.

 

“So, how do you plan on making me smell like yours?” Eddie asks innocently.

 

Richie smirks and leans in to whisper in Eddie’s ear. “Well, the easiest way would be to fuck you good and then leave you full of my cum,” Richie says casually, “But since we’re a little short on time I think I’ll just have you wear my jacket until we get to the club.”

 

Eddie shudders. He hasn’t seen Richie all week due to conflicting schedules, meaning Eddie hasn’t gotten dicked down in over seven fucking days. No tasting Richie’s cum or feeling it slide down his thighs. It’s fair to say Eddie is miserable. Richie is being cruel in teasing him knowing how desperate Eddie is to slip into submission.

 

He whines petulantly and hides his red face in Richie’s chest.

 

“Awh, is my baby suddenly shy?” Richie teases, “Because just last week you were explicitly begging for me to keep my cock in you after already being stuffed full of my cum just so you could feel your hole stretched wide as I fed.”

 

Keeping Richie in him as he fed had become a regular part of their routine. Technically Richie could go for as many rounds as he wanted, being an undead creature of the night provides one with amazing stamina. Eddie couldn’t get enough of feeling Richie hard and warm inside after they both came, and usually Richie would drink from Eddie’s neck for a while longer before the aftercare process began.

 

“Will you fuck me good after you show me off?” Eddie asks eagerly.

 

“Until you’re a whimpering mess full of my come,” Richie promises easily.

 

Richie wraps Eddie up in his jacket before they leave and happily gives the younger boy a piggy back as they make their way to the club as Eddie’s legs feel like jello after being worked up.

 

 Eddie already feels pliant and submissive towards Richie. Usually Eddie is a total brat, but being deprived of his soulmate for a week left him desperate and willing to do just about anything to be filled.

 

“Alright, baby, we’re here,” Richie informs him.

 

Eddie slips off Richie’s back, shrugging off the jacket and handing back to its owner. Finally, he takes in his surroundings, noting the obviously run-down, vacant neighborhood. 

 

“Wait, where the fuck are we?” Eddie questions.

 

Richie shoulders on his jacket. “Welcome to the elusive world of the mythical, sugar,” he says dramatically.

 

“Well, where is it?” Eddie asks looking around. He suddenly flinches when he hears the loud creaking sound of metal scraping and moving. He whips around to see Mike standing in the middle of the road with the sewer cap in his hands.

 

“Michael, what the actual fuck?” Eddie says exasperated.

 

Bill snorts. “It’s the entrance.”

 

Eddie freezes. “Okay I know I said my mysophobia was getting better, but we’re not at the wading through grey water level yet.”

 

“Eds, babe, you’ll be fine we’re not gonna touch the water,” Richie assures him.

 

Eddie watched warily as Mike, Stan, and Bill started down the ladder.

 

“Richie, I will freak if I get dirty,” Eddie protests.

 

Richie pauses. “Get on my back, I’ll carry you down the ladder so you don’t have to touch it,” he offers.

 

Eddie hesitantly jumps on Richie’s back, gripping tight to his jacket as he heads down the ladder. He squeezes his eyes shut and buries his face in Richie’s neck.

 

“Alright, we made it,” Richie says, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

 

Eddie slowly opens his eyes to see the others gathered around an oddly tall door that looks like it would hold electrical supplies or a generator or whatever the fuck would be behind a door in a sewer. He refuses to look at the water he hears rushing by next to him.

 

He notices that all of them have their fangs out, and their eyes are an intimidating bright red.

 

Stan gives a firm knock. The door swings open and a man who’s head nearly surpasses the frame’s height appears. Eddie squeezes Richie tighter. The man looks like he could tear anyone of them limb from limb. However, the most concerning thing is the fact that he only has one eye, smack in the middle of where two should be.

 

“Is that a...?” Eddie wavers.

 

“Cyclops? Yes,” Richie confirms, letting Eddie slide of his back.

 

“Password?” the man’s booming voice demands.

 

Stan rolls his eyes. “Garlic,” he answers.

 

The man steps aside and lets them pile in, and Richie presses Eddie close to his side.

 

The first thing he notices are the blinding lights illuminating the entire building, the club is surprisingly huge with an immaculate bar and large dance floor surrounded by tables filled with creatures that Eddie had only ever seen in story books and movies.

 

Eddie feels slightly self-conscious as the bar’s inhabitants gawk and whisper as Richie leads him through the crowd.

 

“You didn’t tell me I’d be considered a freak show among monsters,” Eddie pouts.

 

Richie laughs. “It’s been a while since anybody’s dragged a human in here, everyone’s just a little surprised.”

 

The others begin to disperse, quickly finding old friends to catch up with. Eddie stays close to Richie as he’s led to the bar.

 

 He climbs onto an empty bar stool. Richie stands instead, keeping a firm arm around his waist as he leans over the bar.

 

Richie catches the bartender’s attention and orders for both of them. He seems to know him because he gets caught up in a conversation.

 

Eddie takes the opportunity to observe his surroundings. He doesn’t get very far because once he turns his head to the side he’s meet with unnaturally cobalt blue eyes. Eddie jumps slightly at the intense gaze. He takes in the man’s pale skin, angular jaw, and stark white hair. 

 

“So, you’re Richie’s mate, huh?” the stranger inquires.

 

Eddie nods.

 

“That’s nice, may I have your name?” 

 

Eddie feels Richie’s body weight shift closer to him and he assumes that he must’ve finished his conversation with the bartender. Regardless, Eddie opens his mouth to answer but is quickly cut off by Richie.

 

“That depends whether or not you feel like having me spill your entrails across the dance floor tonight,” Richie says nonchalantly.

 

Eddie’s about to turn to his boyfriend to ask exactly what the fuck is wrong with him, but the stranger doesn’t seem offended. 

 

He merely smirks and rests his chin on his hand. “You know my kind can’t refuse an opportunity to mess with a mortal, especially one so cute.”

 

“And you know how protective my kind can be,” Richie retorts.

 

“Very well,” the man answers.

 

Eddie looks between them confusedly.

 

“First lesson in the world of the supernatural: be careful who you give your name to, especially when it comes to the fae,” Richie explains.

 

“Well, how are people supposed to know what to call me?” Eddie questions.

 

The fairy next to him giggles but Richie answers seriously. “Whenever someone prompts you to give them your name just respond with ‘you may call me’—that way you don’t give anyone power over you.” 

 

“Non-humans are weird,” Eddie grumbles. 

 

The rest of the night goes smoothly, well as smooth as it can go. They end up migrating to table with the others, and indulging in some food, drinks and being rowdier than usual. After all, it’s difficult to be obnoxious in a club full of monsters.

 

As usual Eddie finds himself on the dance floor at some point in the night. Who knew monsters have such good taste in music?

 

He grabs Richie when he hears the opening of Drunk in Love by Beyoncé start playing. Eddie grinds back into Richie. Everyone is pressed close together, but Richie keeps a possessive hold on his hips.

 

Eddie absentmindedly mouths the lyrics as he turns around to face Richie. He easily pulls Richie down to kiss him, standing on his tippy toes to meet him halfway. They’ve perfected the art of kissing each other despite the nearly ten-inch height difference. He teasingly runs his tongue over his boyfriend’s fangs before pulling back.

 

Eddie tangles a hand in Richie’s hair and tugs on it as he leans in to speak into Richie’s ear, “ _Daddy, I want you_ ,” he whispers along to the lyrics, “ _Drunk in love, I want you_.”

 

Richie reacts immediately, hiking the left side of his shorts and grabbing the exposed skin roughly. Someone wolf-whistles behind them and Richie looks up with a fanged grin.

 

They don’t stay very long after that.

 

_

 

Eddie is pressed into the mattress the second Richie closes the door behind him.

 

“You were a little tease tonight, weren’t you?” Richie says, pinning Eddie’s hips so he can’t move.

 

Eddie is already baring his neck and squirming under Richie. The familiar feeling of submission slips over him and all he can think about is how fast he can get Richie inside him.

 

“Richie, I need you,” he whines.

 

Richie hums in response and pops the button on Eddie’s shorts.

 

“Oh, baby, what’s this?” Richie asks sweetly, snapping the band of black lace against Eddie’s hips.

 

“A surprise,” Eddie whispers.

 

Richie tugs Eddie’s shorts off his legs and admires the view it provides him.

 

“So, fucking pretty, baby,” he compliments, tracing the outline of Eddie’s cock through the panties.

 

Eddie moans at the touch and thrusts his hips up. Richie appreciates the beauty of Eddie in lacy panties for a moment longer before he begrudgingly peels them off and immediately takes Eddie into his mouth.

 

Eddie automatically puts a hand in Richie’s hair. “Richie,” he complains.

 

He knows his boyfriend is taking his sweet time just to tease him. Not that Eddie is one to turn down a blowjob, but all he can think about is the stretch of Richie’s cock inside him.

 

Richie pulls back and gives him a smug look. “What’s wrong, baby?”

 

“Please, fuck me,” he begs.

 

Richie runs his hands up Eddie’s body, stopping to tug at the sensitive piercing on his stomach. Eddie hisses at the sensation and obediently raises his arms as Richie pulls the crop top over his head. There was something hot about Richie being fully dressed while he was completely exposed.

 

“Patience is a virtue,” Richie informs him, motioning for Eddie to lift his hips so a pillow can be shoved under them. He reaches a lanky arm over to rifle through the nightstand drawer for the lube.

 

Richie gives him a smirk and pulls his shirt over his head before laying down on the bed between Eddie’s legs. Suddenly his legs are forcefully spread wide, completely exposing him.

 

Richie presses a finger against Eddie’s rim. “Fuck, that pretty pink hole tightened back up fast didn’t it?”

 

Eddie hides his face behind his hands as Richie stares hungrily at him. Seconds later he feels a slicked-up finger easing its way into him.

 

“Holy fuck, Eds, you’re so tight,” Richie hisses as he pushes his finger deeper.

 

Eddie whimpers pathetically and rocks his hips forward. Richie thrusts his finger in and out a few times before adding a second. Eddie throws his head back as Richie scissors his fingers. 

 

 

Eddie feels incredibly desperate by this point, like he might just start fucking crying if Richie doesn’t put his dick in him soon.

 

“Richie,” Eddie pleads, “I need it in me.”

 

Richie nips at his thigh, adding more lube before squeezing in a third finger. Eddie makes a high-pitched noise and feels a familiar heat pool in his belly.

 

“Baby, I’ll actually hurt you if I don’t stretch you properly,” Richie responds, angling his fingers in such a way that they hit Eddie’s prostate dead on.

 

Eddie moans and clenches around him tightly, surprised that he’s already so close to the edge.

 

“No, Richie, need it,” Eddie continues, trying to find the right words but losing them to the dizziness of subspace. He knows he must have that glazed look in his eyes that Richie loves to talk about but he can’t bring himself to care because he _needs_ Richie right now. 

 

Richie ignores him and continues to graze over his prostate as he stretches him open. Suddenly he bites down hard on the spot of Eddie’s thigh he’d been giving a hickey. Eddie gasps as he breaks the skin and begins sucking zealously at the blood that follows. Without warning Eddie comes onto his chest, completely untouched. 

 

Richie continues drinking for a few moments before pulling away from Eddie’s thigh. He laps at the blood that trickles from the wound and locks eyes with Eddie.

 

“Wow, someone was desperate,” he teases.

 

Eddie is panting, coming down from his high. He ignores Richie’s jab and rolls onto his front.

 

“Put it in me now?” he asks sweetly, barely able to hold himself up on his elbows. 

 

He feels warm and satisfied from an orgasm, but the undeniable need to have Richie stuff him full is still there.

 

Richie looks slightly confused. “Baby, you just came, you don’t have to let me fuck you.”

 

Eddie’s pretty sure he’ll actually start crying at this point. “No, please, I need it, Richie, need the stretch,” Eddie begs desperately.

 

Richie pauses. “You still want me to fuck you?” 

 

Eddie nods readily. “Please.”

 

Richie hooks his thumb on Eddie’s rim and spreads it. “I dunno, baby, you’re still too tight,” there’s a teasing tone in his voice now.

 

“Please, please, please, Chee, I need to feel you, need you to cum in me,” Eddie cries.

 

He’s a squirming, teary-eyed mess on the sheets as he hears Richie take of his jeans and the cap of the lube pop back open. When he feels the now slick head of Richie’s cock press against his entrance he lets out a satisfied sigh.

 

“Fuck,” Richie grits out, spreading Eddie’s cheeks and prodding a finger at where they’re connected, marveling the tightness.

 

“More,” Eddie demands when Richie is to slow to push all the way in.

 

“So greedy,” Richie says as he slowly slides all the way into Eddie, “just can’t get enough of it, huh?” 

 

Eddie let’s out little breathy moans and rocks his hips back into Richie. The stretch is more prominent than usual, and Eddie feels absolutely stuffed full.

 

“Please?” Eddie asks.

 

“Please what?” 

 

“Please, fuck me, please,” Eddie begs.

 

Eddie cries out in pleasure when Richie pulls all the way out and snaps his hips forward. Richie groans and places a large hand on Eddie’s back forcing his chest to the mattress. 

 

Eddie feels tears gather at the corners of his eyes from the oversensitivity. It’s almost too much, but Eddie wouldn’t dare have Richie pull out.

 

Suddenly Richie changes his angle slightly and his pressing against his prostate. Eddie yelps at the feeling of pleasure so intense it’s almost painful.

 

He lazily brings a hand down to his lower stomach as he almost always does when they fuck. He whimpers softly when he feels his flat stomach bulge slightly each time Richie fucks back into him. 

 

“Feeling me again, baby?” Richie asks, “Like how deep I reach? How wide my cock fucks you?” 

 

Eddie nods. “So full,” he gasps. 

 

Richie continues with a brutal pace, roughly fucking into him as he holds him down. Eddie moans loudly as he feels himself near the edge again.

 

“Close,” Eddie warns.

 

“It’s okay, let go,” Richie encourages, “did so good, baby.”

 

It only takes a few more thrusts before Eddie’s coming on to his stomach for a second time that night. 

 

Richie moans at how tightly Eddie clenches around him and picks up his pace, pressing himself flat against Eddie and licking at his neck. Eddie whimpers slightly when Richie’s fangs pierce the delicate skin.

 

It doesn’t take long for Richie to finish after that. 

 

Eddie goes completely lax when he feels Richie’s warm cum filling him up. Richie rolls them onto their sides without pulling out and goes back to feeding from Eddie’s neck. The dizzy intoxicated feeling still consumes him as Richie ravenously drinks his blood.

 

Richie pulls back once he’s satisfied, chin covered in blood. “You did so good baby,” he praises, “so good for me.”

 

Eddie whines and presses down on the slight bulge on his stomach, making the overflow of come inside him slip out where they’re connected.

 

Richie hisses at the sensation. “C’mon, baby,” he whispers, “come back to me.”

 

Eddie feels the overwhelming dizzy sensation slowly abate as Richie continues speaking softly to him.

 

He slowly reaches a hand up to grasp Richie’s and brings it to his lips, gently placing a kiss on his knuckles. 

 

“Love you, Riche,” he says sweetly.

 

Richie places a delicate kiss on the fresh bite mark. “I love you, too, Eds.”

 

-

 

 

They’re all gathered around the apartment’s dining room table for Easter dinner. None of them besides Stan are necessarily religious, but it’s a good excuse to have a ‘family dinner’ as Beverly calls it.

 

Eddie has a huge smile on his face as he helps Ben set the table. Earlier that day Richie had asked him to move in with them. Eddie had immediately accepted the offer, considering he basically lives with them already and rent is expensive.

 

Eventually they all settle down at the table and Eddie is mesmerized by how good of a cook Ben is. They all dig in, enjoying the food and each other’s company. 

 

Halfway through the meal Beverly becomes oddly quiet. When she starts nervously tapping her fingers on the tabletop Ben gives her a concerned look. 

 

“Bev, did you get another vision?” Ben asks tentatively.

 

Beverly has a terrified look in her eyes. “Bowers is back,” she whispers.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YA BOYS BACK WITH ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER
> 
> please fuel my ego in the comment section to motivate me (or give me feedback/ constructive criticism) 
> 
> i sincerely hoped you enjoyed this chapter!!! 
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


	6. Boy, we're gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory revealed: Mike's

Eddie has been packing nonstop for the past week. The second the news of Bowers’ return was announced Richie dragged Eddie back to his apartment to start packing up his stuff.

 

Eddie hadn’t planned to move in with his soulmates until his lease was up, but Richie insists that Eddie’s protection is their first priority. 

 

Despite Eddie’s constant prying Richie refuses to talk about Bowers. Instead he frantically helps Eddie pack. 

 

By the time they move all Eddie’s things to the apartment he’s exhausted and more than fed up with Richie’s vague answers.

 

“Rich!” Eddie snaps when Richie answers another one of his questions with ‘don’t worry about it’. “You can’t keep dodging my questions forever! Why are you keeping me in the dark?!”

 

“Because it’s not safe!” Richie protests.

 

“And keeping me ignorant is beneficial? As much as I love you I can’t just blindly trust you!” Eddie yells.

 

Richie let’s out a particularly frustrated groan before conceding. “Fine,” he beings “as I’m sure you know not all vampires live off animal or stolen hospital blood, some kill people.”

 

Eddie nods. “I gathered that much.”

 

“Well, Bowers and his little gang are those types of vampires,” Richie explains.

 

“But what’s so special about him?” 

 

Richie takes a shaky breath. “Because I killed Vic Criss.”

 

“Who’s-“

 

Richie cuts him off before he can even finish. “Henry’s twin flame.”

 

Eddie tries to ignore the unsettling feeling that brings. “Why?”

 

“Didn’t really have much of a choice,” Richie admits, “it’s a long story.”

 

“I’ve got time,” Eddie says stubbornly.

 

“I ran with Bowers’ gang way back in the day,” Richie starts, “he wasn’t always a monster, he used to watch his little sister as she grew up through the years, but it all changed once she got married.”

 

Eddie scoots closer to where Richie is sitting on the bed. “What happened?” 

 

“He found out that his sister’s husband was hitting her, and ending up killing him in a fit of rage,” Richie explains, “but the thing about tasting human blood for the first time is that it sends you into an uncontrollable state of bloodlust.”

 

Eddie pauses. “Did he kill his sister?”

 

Richie nods. “And her unborn child. After that he gave into the hunger and started ripping people to shreds if they were so unlucky to be alone in his presence.”

 

“Is that when you left?” Eddie asks.

 

“Yeah,” he confirms, “but I was pretty close with Vic, we even kept in contact over the years, he was like an unofficial member of our group. The last time we all saw him he was just covered in wounds.”

 

Eddie remembers how Richie had told him that the only way vampires can sustain wounds or be killed is at the hands of another mythical creatures. 

 

“Henry was hurting him,” Eddie says in realization.

 

Richie nods. “He loved Henry and refused to give up on him, but he tracked us down to warn us that Henry was back, and that he had only gotten worse, had started torturing humans for enjoyment.”

 

“But why’d you kill Vic if you were friends with him?”

 

Richie runs a hand down his face. “The next time I saw Henry he was tormenting this human, when I tried to intervene Vic stepped between us, and he...he told me to end it, said he was going to protect Henry till he was dead.”

 

Eddie leans into Richie in an attempt to comfort him. “He wanted you to kill him?” 

 

“Yeah, and Henry was still standing there fucking turning the human, and fuck, it didn’t matter how many times I knocked Vic down he kept getting back up, and I just...I had to stop Henry,” Richie prattles, tears beginning to slip down his cheeks.

 

“It’s okay,” Eddie soothes, “you’re okay.”

 

“Henry stopped once I killed Vic,” Richie continues, “finally realized how far he had let it all go. I dragged the human, well now vampire, away while Henry was crying over Vic.”

 

“Why didn’t he attack you then? Why’s he coming back now?”

 

“When your twin flame dies, you feel all the regrets, anguish, and pain they do, it’s enough to bring anyone to their knees,” Richie explains, “he swore he’d make me feel that same pain one day as I left.”

 

“So, I’m why he’s back?” Eddie whispers.

 

Richie gives him a determined look. “We’ll protect you, Eds,” he promises.

 

Eddie nods and presses a kiss to his cheek. “I know you will.”

 

 

-

 

One of them always walks him home from classes after the news of Bowers reappearance. Despite a month’s passing they haven’t seen or heard anything. Still, Richie is cautious and demands that one of his soulmates always be in Eddie’s presence. 

 

Eddie assumed it would be suffocating, but instead he finds their constant company calming.

 

Today Mike’s on Eddie duty, meaning he’s subject to the question that’s been bugging Eddie of late. He had forgotten to ask Richie, but he can’t help but wonder who it was that Richie saved the day he killed Vic. At first Eddie chalked Richie being emotional up to recounting the death of a friend, but there was something else akin to anger or rage when he talked about the human that Henry was torturing. 

 

“Hey, Mike?” Eddie asks, walking on top of a park bench they’re passing by. It’s a habit of his to try and climb over whatever’s in his way. Richie likes to say it’s because Eddie’s amazed by the view that people with normal heights get. Eddie usually sticks his tongue out in response but it doesn’t stop him from scaling low brick walls and concrete ridges to walk across. 

 

“Yeah?” Mike responds as Eddie jumps off the end of the park bench.

 

“Who was that human that Richie saved last time he saw Bowers?” Eddie asks, “He talked about them like they meant a lot but he never named them.”

 

Mike sighs and Eddie worries he’s crossed a line.

 

“You don’t have to say anything if it’s like a touchy subject or something!” Eddie says quickly.

 

Mike shakes his head. “No it’s fine,” he assures him, “Richie didn’t tell you because he probably felt wrong telling a story that wasn’t his.” 

 

Eddie frowns in confusion but Mike keeps talking.

 

“The human was they were torturing was me,” Mike admits.

 

He nearly trips on the concrete underneath his feet. “Oh my god, Mike,” he whispers.

  

 “None of us have had it easy,” he says with a shrug, brushing off Eddie's concern, “Anyway it’ll be easier if I start at the beginning. I was born in 1927, making me the last person before you to join the group.”

 

“So, you died in the 50s?” Eddie clarifies.

 

Mike nods. “I grew up in Georgia on a farm, it was right around the beginning of the civil rights movement,” he explains. 

 

“Were you a part of it?” Eddie asks curiously.

 

Mike smiles proudly. “Hell yeah, one of the best things I’ve ever done really,” he says, “but, of course, most people didn't see it that way back then. Henry and his group happened to be a part of that majority.”

 

“Richie hung out with racists?” Eddie asks.

 

“Well, I don’t know if Henry was ever really racist until he became so consumed with hate, and that was after Richie left. Regardless I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he states.

 

“Mike,” Eddie says sadly.

 

“They ambushed me when I was walking my dog home,” he continues, “his name was Mr.Chips.”

 

“Your dog? That’s cute.”

 

Mike smiles before continuing. “They stopped me in an alleyway, at first I just thought it was a mugging, but then Henry started attacking me with inhuman strength.”

 

“And then Richie showed up?” Eddie asks.

 

“Yeah, he was looking for Vic after his warning that Henry was back,” he confirms, “he happened to stumble across us, once he looked me in my eyes he could tell I was one of his soulmates, I personally thought he was an angel at first.”

 

Eddie takes Mike’s hand in his, craving some form of comfort.

 

“He tried to get to me but Vic was in the way, while they were fighting Henry turned me once he realized I was one of Richie’s soulmates. The next thing I knew I was tearing open Mr.Chips as Henry and his groupies laughed,” Mike says bitterly.

 

Eddie gasps, bringing a hand to cover his mouth. He suddenly feels nauseous.

 

“I didn’t stop until Richie was dragging me out of the alleyway, bringing me somewhere safe to finish the change,” Mike concludes.

 

“Fuck,” Eddie curses, “I didn’t think it was possible to hate him anymore.”

 

Mike wraps an arm around Eddie’s shoulders. “Some people just can’t adapt to a life they never wanted.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 Richie can smell how aroused Eddie is. He would wake him up but watching Eddie squirm and moan as he presses his hips into the bed, obviously in the middle of a wet dream, is much more entertaining.

 

Eventually Eddie wakes up and Richie watches as he absentmindedly dips his hands beneath his shorts and palms his erection before reaching beneath his boxers to stroke himself fully. 

 

He doesn’t stop when Richie wraps an arm around his waist. His long fingers easily find Eddie’s bellybutton ring, playfully tugging at it.

 

"What has my baby so worked up this early in the morning?” Richie asks.

 

“Had a dream,” Eddie supplies.

 

“Enlighten me,” Richie says, running a hand under Eddie’s (or really Richie’s) shirt and rubbing a finger lightly over one of his nipples.

 

“I was on my knees,” Eddie begins.

 

“Always a pretty sight,” Richie interjects, shifting his hips so Eddie can feel his hard length through his pajama pants pressing against his ass.

 

“And you were holding my hair, fucking my face,” Eddie breathes.

 

“Mhmm, how about we make that dream come true? On your knees, baby,” Richie commands.

 

Eddie quickly clambers off the bed and onto the floor beside it. Richie chuckles at his eagerness.

 

“Desperate for it, huh?” Richie taunts.

 

Eddie just gives him a pleading look and sticks out his tongue. Richie roughly tangles a hand in his hair and pulls him forward till he’s flush with Richie’s clothed cock.

 

“Gonna have to work for it, love,” he says.

 

Eddie immediately places both hands on Richie’s thighs, fingers scrambling to pull down his pajama pants. He buries his face in Richie’s hip the second his lower half is bare and brings a hand up to stroke Richie to full hardness.

 

Richie tightens the hand in his hair and pulls Eddie back until his lips are right in front of Richie’s cock. “Didn’t your mom ever teach you not to play with your food?” Richie jokes.

 

Eddie scrunches his nose at the ridiculous comment but takes the head into his mouth nonetheless. He presses the barbell of his piercing to Richie’s slit just to hear him hiss at the sensation. He pulls back to lick a stripe up his cock before sitting back on his thighs.

 

He tilts his head to the side a bit so Richie has a clear view of the recent bite mark on his neck. “Fuck my face?”

 

“Till you’re crying,” Richie promises.

 

Eddie leans forward mouth open so Richie can easily slide his cock in until the head is pressing at the back of his throat. He pauses momentarily, brushing a thumb over Eddie’s cheek before pulling out and thrusting back in. 

 

Richie sets a fast pace, using Eddie’s hair to hold him in place and roughly fucking in and out of his warm mouth. Eddie’s digs his nails into Richie’s thighs, enjoying the weight of him in his mouth and pressing his tongue to the underside of Richie’s cock so he can feel the cool metal of his tongue piercing.

 

“Such a pretty picture,” Richie praises, “taking my cock so well.”

 

Eddie moans around his boyfriend, and looks up at Richie through eyelashes that have tears stuck to their ends.

 

“Fuck I’m close,” Richie groans.

 

Eddie pulls back so only his lips are wrapped around the tip and begins jerking off whatever’s not in his mouth.

 

“Good boy,” Richie says, keeping a tight grip in Eddie’s hair.

 

Eddie practically melts when the first shot of cum hits his tongue. He gratefully takes whatever Richie gives him. Once he’s done Eddie sits back on his thighs and opens his mouth so Richie can see all his cum sitting on his tongue before he swallows.

 

Richie easily notices the first few signs of Eddie slipping into subspace. The first is usually silence or broken/mumbled speech. Right now Eddie has his face buried in Richie’s hip, whimpering.

 

“Color, baby?” Richie asks. Considering Eddie is relatively new to anything involving BDSM Richie thought it best they start off with the color system considering how easily Eddie slips into subspace.

 

Although Eddie tends to be less susceptible to verbal questions once he gets that dazed look in his eyes.

 

He ignores Richie’s question instead biting at his hip and mumbling. “More?” 

 

Richie takes Eddie’s chin in his hand, “Color?” he says firmly.

 

“Green,” Eddie answers.

 

“Good boy,” Richie says, leaning down to scoop Eddie up and place him on the bed. 

 

Richie pulls Eddie’s oversized shirt over his head and roughly tugs off the skimpy red sleeping shorts he always wears to bed.

 

Eddie immediately rolls onto his stomach and places his arms behind his back, crossing his wrists.

 

“You want to be tied up, baby boy?” 

 

Eddie readily nods his head. It was recently that Richie introduced Eddie to some simple bondage. His boyfriend quickly discovered that he liked having his hands held away from him. 

 

Richie walks over to his closet and picks out a leather wrist restraint. 

 

“Color?” Richie asks as he clips the restraints into place.

 

Eddie pulls on the leather slightly, testing their strength. “Green,” he says, letting out a satisfied sigh.

 

Richie smiles, looking down at his boy spread out in front of him. He gently runs his hands up Eddie’s thighs before spreading his cheeks. Richie groans when he sees Eddie’s hole is still red and open from last night. He immediately shoves two fingers in, relishing at how stretched out and wet Eddie still is. There’s something extremely hot about the concept of Eddie still being slick with his cum.

 

“God, you’re still so loose, baby,” Richie says in amazement.

 

Eddie hides his face in the pillows in embarrassment.

 

Richie chuckles. “It’s cause my little slut likes to be stuffed full for as long as he can, huh?” 

 

Eddie nods. “You can just slip in, Chee,” he says.

 

Richie pulls his two fingers out and hooks a thumb on Eddie’s rim, stretching it, “Think your little hole is loose and wet enough to take me without prep?”

 

Eddie nods again.

 

Richie presses the blunt head of his cock to Eddie’s hole. “I’ve never been one to deny my little slut anything.”

 

Despite his cock being slick from Eddie’s spit there’s still a slight friction, although the cum and lube in Eddie’s ass soon ease the burn. There’s more of a distinctive stretch than usual and Richie can tell Eddie definitely feels it. 

 

Richie hasn’t moved yet, letting Eddie adjust to the stretch. He watches in fascination as Eddie clenches and squirms on his cock, occasionally crying out. Richie only begins to get concerned once Eddie’s breathing becomes so ragged it reminds him of one of his pseudo asthma attacks.

 

“Hey baby, color?” Richie says, but he doesn’t earn a response. Eddie’s already has his face buried in the pillows, probably drowning everything out besides the feel of Richie’s cock.

 

Richie huffs and pulls Eddie off the bed until his back is flush with his chest. The movement punches a high-pitched moan out of Eddie’s chest as the new angle pushes Richie deeper inside him.

 

“Color?” he says firmly.

 

“Green, green, green, green,” Eddie chants.

 

“Hey,” Richie says softly, pressing a kiss to the side of Eddie ahead, “you okay?”

 

“Richie,” he whines, “feels so much bigger.”

 

He pulls against his restraints and Richie knows he’s itching to place a hand on the bulge Richie’s cock creates through his stomach. Feeling generous, Richie indulges him, but pauses once he skims a hand over the bulge. He quickly looks down to Eddie’s stomach and moans when he notices how much more prominent the bulge is than usual. It’s probably due more the position than the lack of stretch but it definitely seems to be turning on Eddie who’s staring at it in awe.

 

“Like how wide I stretch you open, Eds?” Richie teases.

 

Eddie rests his head on Richie collar bone. “I feel so full.”

 

“My baby likes being stuffed full of cock, doesn’t he?” Richie says, spreading Eddie’s knees a bit wider so he can start pumping his cock in and out of him.

 

Eddie goes slightly limp in his arms, but Richie knows he won’t fully relax until he’s full of come. Richie begins picking up his pace slightly, knowing Eddie’s getting close. He brings a hand in front of them to wrap around Eddie’s cock.

 

Eddie whimpers at the sensation, unsure whether to rock forward into Richie’s hand or back onto his cock.

 

It doesn’t take him more than a minute before he’s coming onto Richie’s palm and his own stomach. Richie doesn’t falter on his rhythm though, knowing Eddie would probably throw a tantrum if he pulled out. The first time Eddie experienced subdrop was when Richie pulled out right after to go start a bath. 

 

He pushes Eddie back onto the bed, placing a hand on his shoulder blades and roughly fucking into him. Eddie hisses at the oversensitivity, clenching tightly around Richie in response. That’s eventually what sends him over the edge. He comes deep in Eddie, grinding his hips against him until he comes down from his high.

 

Eddie melts into the mattress after he’s pumped full and doesn’t move as Richie undoes his bindings. He gladly lets his boyfriend position them on their sides.

 

Eddie stretches his arms before lightly placing a hand on the bulge on his stomach which had only been exasperated by the fact that Richie just shot load full of come into him. 

 

He quickly notices how Eddie is obediently baring his neck, trying to get Richie to feed since he hadn’t during sex. In reality Richie isn’t all that hungry but he knows it’s important that Eddie feel like he’s taking care of him too. So, he digs his fangs into Eddie’s shoulder, drinking a minimal amount of the sweet tasting blood. 

 

Eddie looks insanely relaxed as he feeds. He once explained to Richie that it's more of a safety thing for him than anything. He feels secure when Richie is inside him and latched onto his neck. Despite the almost innocent explanation Richie still finds it extremely hot. 

 

He gently coaxes Eddie out of subspace once he’s had his fill. He’s met with a side of Eddie’s that he’s dubbed ‘dicked down Eddie’. It's one of the few times that his boyfriend’s extreme anxiety isn’t present. 

 

“Chee,” Eddie giggles.

 

“Yes, love?”

 

“I love you,” he says like it’s a secret.

 

“I love you too, Eds,” He says back, “I’m gonna go start a bath, okay?”

 

Eddie seems slightly dissatisfied at the idea of Richie pulling out but nods nonetheless.

 

As Richie pads across the bathroom tile he wonders how the hell he got so lucky.

 

-

 

Richie tugs on a hoodie before slipping on some old beat up converse. It’s his turn to walk Eddie back home from class and he’ll be damned if he’s late. 

 

The walk to Eddie’s campus isn’t all that far or taxing, especially considering Richie has practically unlimited stamina. He keeps on track as he always does, that is until he smells a scent he hasn’t come in contact with in years. 

 

He doesn’t hesitate to quickly enter the next alleyway he passes by. He discreetly scales the building, hoping to achieve a better view and possibly find his target. Richie peers over the side of the building, shoulders tensing as the smell gets closer.

 

“Toizer,” a deep voice calls from behind.

 

Richie whips around to see Henry Bowers walking towards him from the opposite side of the roof.

 

“You better fucking stay away if you know what’s good for you, Bowers,” Richie warns.

 

Henry hums in disinterest. “I might not always make the best decisions, but I definitely keep good on my promises.”

 

“If you touch him I swear to god I will rip you limb from fucking limb,” Richie responds.

 

“Yes, but once you’ve felt what I’ve felt you’ll truly know what it’s like to be one of the living dead, and that’s good enough for me,” Henry responds.

 

“What are you doing here, Bowers?” Richie asks.

 

He grins. “Stalling for time,” he answers, “you have somewhere you’re supposed to be, don’t you?” 

 

“Eddie’s in the middle of a busy college campus, and he wouldn’t go anywhere unless it was with one of his soulmates,” Richie says trying to sound more confident than he feels.

 

“Have you forgotten about Belch Huggins so easily?” Henry taunts.

 

Richie racks his brain for the name. Belch Huggins joined the group less than a month before Richie left. He doesn’t understand. Why would Belch Huggins be able to tempt Eddie off campus? He shoots Henry a confused look before freezing. Suddenly he’s hit with the memory of Belch’s unique power: shapeshifting.

 

“Catch you later, Toizer,” Henry calls, already jumping off the back of the building. 

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie rocks back and forth on his heels, waiting for Richie to show up. So far, he’s twenty minutes late and Eddie’s starting to get concerned.

 

He’s considering calling one of the others to ask if they know where Richie is when he spots a familiar head of curls.

 

“Richie!” Eddie calls, scampering down the steps and pulling him down for a chaste kiss. 

 

He raises an eyebrow once he pulls away, confused as to why his boyfriend is so stiff.

 

“You okay?” Eddie questions.

 

“Yeah, great!” Richie says almost a little too quickly.

 

Eddie shakes it off, trailing behind an oddly quiet Richie. Usually he’d be asking Eddie about his day or telling him a funny story. Now he’s dead silent.

 

“Richie?” Eddie asks when his boyfriend makes a sharp turn into an alleyway.

 

 No answer.

 

“Richie, what the hell is up with you?” Eddie demands following his boyfriend into the secluded area.

 

Richie pushes the sleeves of his sweater up in an almost nervous fashion. “Just wanted to show you something,” he says.

 

Eddie’s eyes are locked to Richie’s now bare forearms.

 

“Richie?” he whispers.

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“What happened to your tattoos?”

 

Richie doesn’t give him and answer and Eddie searches his eyes for their normal, loving warmth but finds nothing.

 

“You’re not Richie,” he realizes.

 

 

-

 

 

Richie is darting down back alleys at an alarming rate. He’s probably being a little less cautious than he should be but all he can think about is getting to Eddie. When he gets closer to the school he pulls out his phone, dialing Eddie’s number.

 

He breathes a sigh of relief when his call is answered. “Eddie, baby, don’t move,” he says the second the call connects.

 

“I didn’t know you got new tattoos,” a voice says down the line. 

 

If Richie hadn’t been reminded of his existence earlier he wouldn’t have been able to place his finger on the voice.

 

“Belch,” he growls.

 

“You know, I can only imitate what I remember,” he says conversationally, “I’m surprised I got the face right. I’m just lucky I didn’t roll up my sleeves until I got him alone.”

 

“If you fucking touch him, Belch,” Richie grits out.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving him all to Henry,” he promises.

 

“Belch-“

 

“Talk to you later, Toizer,” he says before the line goes dead.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave me a nice comment bc its been a rough couple of days and i need the love xoxox
> 
> my tumblr - happytreasure


	7. That Just Ani't Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: attempted sexual assault and helllaaaaa violence

Richie stares at the living room wall blankly. His soulmates refused to let him leave in such a state and insisted that they make a plan before attacking Henry. 

 

Random memories of Eddie flash through Richie’s head. For some reason, he keeps getting caught on a particular one.

 

_They had decided to go to the nearest country side for a picnic. It was Mike who had suggested it. He missed the wide open space he was so used to during childhood. They all readily agreed to a little break from the city._

_They took two cars. One was Mike’s jeep and the other Beverly’s bright pink convertible. Richie had wanted to take Eddie on his motorcycle, but his boyfriend still refused to go near it._

_Eddie had his hand sticking out the car, enjoying the breeze. He had on cute little jean shorts and a tank top that had tiny pineapples on it._

_Ther’s a big smile on his face as the wind whips his short hair around. He didn’t have any makeup on, or at least it was so minimal Richie couldn’t tell._

_He looked stunning._

_“What are you looking at?” Eddie asked, grinning at Richie._

_“You, gorgeous,” he responded._

_Eddie got a big smile on his face and blew him a kiss. Before Richie could lean down and press a real kiss to his lips, Beverly shuffled the playlist and Tongue Tied by Grouplove came on._

_Eddie’s face lit up as he started screaming the lyrics. Richie settled for joining him._

_Eventually Mike’s jeep suddenly pulled over to the side of the road ahead of them._

_Beverly turns off the music and looks over curiously._

_“Ben, pull over we need to see what’s wrong,” she said._

_Ben nodded and pulled the car over to the side behind mike._

_Eddie quickly hopped out of the car and jogged up to the jeep._

_“Are you guys okay?” Eddie asked, standing on his tiptoes to look through the driver side window._

_“Yeah,” Mike responded, “the motor just started sputtering and then gave out.”_

_“Should we call Triple A?” Stan suggested, stepping out of the car._

_“Nah, lemme take a look,” Eddie said._

_Six pairs of eyes gave him dubious looks._

_“No offense, Cupcake, but do ya know what you’re doing?” Richie asked._

_“Yes, I worked in an auto shop all throughout high school,” he retorts._

_Bill popped the hood, and Eddie glanced inside._

_He scoffed. “And you were gonna call Triple A for this,” he grumbled._

_He leaned over the car and Richie unabashedly stared at his ass. It only took a few minutes before Eddie seemed satisfied with his work._

_“It should be fine now,” he informed them._

_“Is it weird that I found that really hot?” Richie asked._

_“You find everything hot,” Eddie pointed out, wiping his oil stained fingers on Richie’s shirt._

_They ended up spending all day out on the country side._

 

-

 

 

Eddie’s head feels like it’s splitting in two when he wakes up.  

 

He groans, and tries to bring his hands up to rub his eyes only to find he can’t move them. He blinks several times, clearing his vision. He looks down to his wrists which are bound together by duck tape. The last thing he remembers is following not-Richie into the alleyway.

 

He takes in his surroundings in a panic. He’s in what to looks like to be a bomb shelter or something—it’s a small room with concrete floors and walls.

 

As he shifts he hears the clanking of metal. He glances down to his ankles which are bound to the ground by chains.

 

Suddenly a small light illuminates the darkest, furthest corner of the room. He sees the vague silhouette of a face and two bright red eyes staring back at him.

 

“Hello?” he calls, voice shaky.

 

“So, the human lives,” a deep voice says, “had us worried there for a moment, we forget how fragile your kind is.”

 

“Who are you?” Eddie asks.

 

“Awfully bold of you to assume you get to ask the questions here,” the person responds, emerging from the shadows. 

 

His shoulder length greasy black hair hangs around his face. His dark red eyes are cold and unforgiving. Then Eddie notices the ball of fire he’s holding in the palm of his hand. Eddie quickly realizes this vampire can control fire like Mike.

 

“Where am I?” Eddie questions.

 

The man is in his face within a second. Eddie’s nose scrunches as his rancid breath hits him. He tries to avoid looking at the vampire's blood-stained gums as he grins wide.

 

“I thought I said I’m the one asking questions here, cutie,” he growls and Eddie shivers when his eyes rake down his body.

 

“Then ask away,” Eddie snaps.

 

The man ignores him. “I can see why Tozier’s so protective, he doesn’t like sharing the pretty things he has.”

 

Eddie scoots away. “Get away,” he says firmly.

 

Suddenly his shoulder is pinned to the ground by one of the stranger’s large hands. Eddie struggles futilely as the man runs a calloused hand under his shirt and up his stomach.

 

“Oh, what’s this?” he teases once he finds Eddie’s bellybutton piercing.

 

Eddie grimaces as he fiddles with it. Luckily, he’s saved by the sound of a door on the ceiling opening. He looks longingly at the clear blue sky before a large man with cropped brown hair jumps down from the entrance.

 

He scoffs at the position Eddie’s in. “No one will be able to protect you from Tozier if you fuck that kid, Patrick,” he says.

 

“Awh, Belch, we were just having a little fun weren’t we, sweetheart?” Patrick says to him.

 

“Fuck you,” Eddie hisses, spitting in his face.

 

Patrick smile doesn’t waver. “I really wish you hadn’t done that.”

 

Suddenly the grip on Eddie’s piercing tightens before Patrick rips it straight from his stomach.

 

Eddie let’s out a scream, rolling on his side. Patrick drops the piercing in front of him.

 

Belch sighs. “We’re just supposed to be _watching_ him until Henry gets back.”

 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun, right?” Patrick says sweetly.

 

“I’m not gonna watch you fuck him, asshole,” Belch deadpans.

 

Eddie stomach churns as his captors discuss his potential rape in front of him like he isn’t present.

 

Patrick hums. “I’d much rather teach this little whore a lesson.” 

 

He turns to Eddie. He wants nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

 

“I bet he just lets Tozier have his way with him, probably fucks the kid whenever he feels like it,” Patrick taunts, “I doubt he’s any better a lover than Henry.”

 

Belch scoffs. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

 

Patrick ignores him, instead running a finger down Eddie’s cheek. “I say we leave our mark on him for when Tozier finds his body.”

 

“Henry’s gonna kick your ass for that,” Belch informs him.

 

Patrick shrugs. “It’s worth teaching the slut a lesson,” he turns to look at Eddie again, “I bet you just let Tozier bend you over whenever he wants, you’re more like a pet to him than anything.”

 

“He loves me,” Eddie bites back, but the hot tears streaming down his face betray him.

 

“This one’s feisty,” Patrick purrs, “It’s so cute how he thinks that they’re equals or something, like Tozier doesn’t just see him as a glorified, fuckable drinking fountain.

 

Patrick roughly rolls a squirming Eddie on his back, easily ripping the duck tape binding Eddie’s arms off. He looks at him confused and Patrick chuckles.

 

“Oh, don’t get excited, sweetheart,” Patrick says before pinning Eddie’s right arm to the ground at the wrist.

 

His other hand summons a tiny flame on his index finger. Suddenly Eddie catches on.

 

“No, no, no, please,” he begs, roughly pushing at Patrick’s shoulder although he might as well be trying to move concrete.

 

“I love it when they beg,” Patrick remarks.

 

Eddie watches with wide eyes as Patrick brings the flame to his forearm. He lets out a gut-wrenching scream as the fire licks at his skin. He does everything in his power to free himself, kicking, punching, clawing, but Patrick just laughs above him. 

 

The smell of burning flesh fills his nose and he starts to feel dizzy. His breathing is out of control and eventually the pain starts to feel less and less as darkness crowds his vision.

 

Slowly it all goes black. 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Richie’s hands are shaking as they all travel to Eddie’s campus to see if they can pick up his scent. They decided it was best to travel at night, or at least that’s what Richie’s soulmates told him. Really, they had probably taken the time to contact other monsters and see if anyone had information on Henry. Most importantly they probably wanted Richie to calm down. He knows he can be reckless when distraught, but waiting had been torture.

 

He silently follows his soulmates as they jump from building to building. Beverly waits for him to catch up.

 

“The witches said they saw Henry fucking around in the forest near their territory,” she says.

 

Richie hums in response.

 

“That could be where he’s hiding him,” she continues.

 

Richie nods and they hop down from the current building they’re on, nearing the campus.

 

Richie picks up on his scent immediately. His soulmates trail behind him. It’s a short walk to an alleyway. Richie’s stomach churns when he smells a scent he’s all too familiar with: Eddie’s blood.

 

Richie skims his fingers across the concrete wall until he comes in contact with a dried patch of blood.

 

“Probably slammed his head against the wall to knock him out,” Richie says coldly.

 

“Rich-“ Bill begins.

 

“Don’t,” he warns, “let’s just head to where the witches said they last saw him.”

 

A figure jumps down from the building above them, coming face to face with Richie.

 

“Henry,” Richie growls.

 

Henry gives him a sinister smile. “I’ve been waiting for you guys, gotta say I’m surprised it took you so long to get this far.”

 

“Where is he?” Richie grits out.

 

“Hmm? Oh, your little plaything? I don’t care about that anymore,” Henry says nonchalantly.

 

Richie frowns, confused at Henry’s confession.

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demands.

 

Henry feigns disinterest. “I’ve decided you’re not worth the effort.”

 

“Then why did you take him?! I can read your mind, I know you still want him dead!” Richie yells. 

 

Henry shrugs. “Technically I didn’t take him at all, that would be Belch,” he points out, “Although I’d hurry if I were you, I left him with Patrick.”

 

Richie lunges but Henry swiftly dodges him. “You know the old bunker by the witches’ houses?” 

 

Richie feels his blood boil and wants nothing more than to slam Henry against the wall and demand he explain whatever the fuck he’s getting at.

 

“Whatever game you’re fucking playing-“ Richie begins.

 

“No games,” Henry says cutting him off, “but like I said, I’d put a little pep in my step if I were you. Who knows how long before Patrick gives in and has his way with him?”

 

With that Henry turns on his heel and races down the alleyway. Richie is more than ready to follow him, but he’s held back by Ben.

 

“Ben, fucking let go!” Richie yells.

 

“No, you’re not thinking, running after him will do nothing, we need to go to the bunker,” Ben says calmly.

 

Richie knows he’s right, but every instinct in him wants to chase after Henry and tear his throat out.

 

“He’s ruh-right, Rich, we need to go guh-get Eddie,” Bill chimes in.

 

Richie huffs and shakes Ben’s hand off his shoulder before stomping out of the alleyway. 

 

He can only hope that Henry isn’t sending them on a wild goose chase.

 

 

-

 

When Eddie comes to, he feels nauseous, and his head is pounding once again. The first thing he notices is the voices.

 

“Where the fuck is Henry?” Belch groans.

 

“Hell if I know, maybe Tozier took him out,” Patrick jokes.

 

He blinks the spots out of his vision in time to see Belch’s glare. 

 

The more conscious he becomes the more aware he becomes of the horrible pain. He weakly turns his head to glance at his forearm. He gags at the burnt skin. It’s black around the edges with pink, raw spots of flesh. The burns are in a particular pattern and it takes him a moment to decipher the word.

 

Patrick burnt the word WHORE into his forearm.

 

He feels shame burn through him as his mind races with all the diseases and infections he could be contracting.

 

Eddie chokes on a sob, garnering the attention of the two vampires.

 

“Oh, looks like Tozier’s pet woke up,” Patrick says as if Eddie’s somehow inconvenienced him. He walks back up to him, digging a finger Eddie’s fresh wounds. He cries out in pain too weak to move.

 

“Ya know, if Henry doesn’t hurry the fuck up, I might just have occupy myself,” Patrick grouses.

 

Eddie heaves at the words, feeling dizzy again. He wonders if death is preferable at this point.

 

He feels _disgusting_ , _ugly_ , _worthless_. He bites his lip to keep himself from crying out loud. He wants to hide his arm. He doesn’t want Richie to see it.

 

“I bet he’s all loose after Tozier though,” Patrick complains, snapping the band of Eddie’s shorts.

 

“Good thing I’m not picky,” he continues.

 

Eddie starts to lose hope as Patrick pulls his shorts lower on his hips.

 

“Hold up, do you hear that?” Belch asks.

 

Patrick stands, and Eddie breathes a sigh of relief.

 

“Maybe Henry’s here,” Patrick suggests.

 

Suddenly the door slams open and Eddie scrunches his eyes shut. If Henry’s here that means it’s over for him. 

 

However, he quickly opens them back up when he hears his two captors curse in surprise and the sound of a struggle.

 

Eddie blinks, Richie has Patrick pinned to the ground and Mike and Bill each have one of Belch’s arms in their grips. He lets out a horrible scream when they twist and pull, breaking off his limbs. Stan finishes the job by ripping off his head. 

 

There’s no blood, instead Belch’s skin looks like stone as cracks and crumbles under the force.

 

He sobs in relief and feels his mind go numb.

 

Patrick looks wide-eyed at his destroyed companion. Richie grins down at him manically.

 

“What? Surprised your ring leader sold you out?” he taunts.

 

“Doesn’t matter, I’ve already had my way with him,” Patrick brags.

 

Eddie continues to stare at Richie until Beverly appears in front of him blocking his view. It doesn’t stop him from hearing the horrible sound of Patrick’s screams as his body breaks apart. 

 

“Oh, Eddie, baby,” Beverly cries, “oh, my god.”

 

For some reason, his eyes feel heavy once he knows he’s safe. His thoughts are foggy as Beverly strokes his cheek.

 

“Eddie? Eddie, hey look at me,” Beverly urges, but her voice sounds like she’s underwater.

 

He blinks his eyes furiously, trying to stay awake. Suddenly, Richie’s hovering over him, tears running down his cheeks.

 

“Fuck, baby,” he says, gingerly lifting Eddie forearm.

 

“Don’t look,” Eddie manages, trying to pull his arm out of Richie’s grasp.

 

“C’mon, Eds, try to stay awake,” Richie pleads.

 

Eddie tries to open his eyes again but they feel like lead. Before he knows it, everything’s black again.

 

 

-

 

 

 

Richie looks down at Eddie, his fingers carding through his hair.  He watches Eddie slowly come to.

 

He quickly flinches away from Richie’s touch, blinking his eyes rapidly.

Eddie lets out a ragged sigh of relief when he realizes who’s touching him. Richie pulls him closer to his chest.

 

“Richie!” Eddie cries.

 

“Hi, baby,” he coos.

 

Eddie turns to him cuddling into his chest and grasping at his shirt.

 

“Richie, I-I’m so sorry,” he sobs.

 

Richie blinks. Why the hell is Eddie apologizing?

 

“Hey, hey,” Richie soothes, “you did nothing wrong. If anything, I’m sorry I let this happen to you.”

 

“He didn’t touch me,” Eddie blurts out, “I know he said he did, but he didn’t...he didn’t...rape me.”

 

Richie feels like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulders. “Thank god,” he says.

 

“He...he ripped out my piercing because I spit in his face when he started touching me,” Eddie explains.

 

Richie wishes that he hadn’t killed Patrick so fast.

 

“He said he was gonna mark me for when you found my body,” he reveals, “but now I have to live with the scar.”

 

Eddie looks down to his forearm which is now covered in bandages. 

 

“It’s not true,” Richie says, “what he wrote is bullshit.”

 

There’s a long pause before Eddie speaks again.

 

“I dunno, I’d say I’m a whore for mac n cheese,” Eddie says, voice still wet with tears.

 

“Did you...did you just make a joke?” Richie asks.

 

“Tryna lighten the mood with humor,” he explains.

 

Richie gives him a small smile, endlessly amazed with how strong Eddie is. “That’s my job,” he says, bringing a thumb up to wipe gently at the tears on his cheeks. 

 

“Thank you for saving me, Richie,” Eddie murmurs.

 

He knows the conversation isn’t over. They’ll have to talk about what happened. Deal with the trauma. But right now, Eddie looks exhausted and Richie is more than willing to let him sleep.

 

“I’ll always find you,” he promises as Eddie gently shuts his eyes.

 

Richie, however, doesn’t sleep. He knows Henry’s little charade is just that. He’s not done with them. The suffering isn’t over.

 

-

 

Eddie’s eyes burn as he looks down at his mutilated forearm. The skin is deformed and ugly.

 

He had graduated college a few days ago under Richie’s suffocating supervision. He never thought he’d dread graduating, but school had become his only source of freedom since his attack. Richie refuses to let him out of his sight.

 

Worst of all the burns on his forearm are healing extremely slow. Richie explained that it was due to the fire he was burned with not being regular.

 

He winces when Richie slathers ointment on it.

 

“I can do this by myself,” he complains.

 

“I like to take care of you,” Richie explains, gently wrapping the wound in gauze.

 

“I don’t want you to see it though,” he says bitterly, “it’s ugly.”

 

“Doesn’t mean you’re ugly though,” Richie says, “the bite marks all over my body are ugly, you still love me though.”

 

Eddie huffs. “It…it makes me ashamed though, it’s like having a fucking scarlet letter, I can’t wear short sleeves without people knowing I’m a whore.”

 

Richie sighs. “You’re not a whore, Eddie.”

 

“Hard to think that way when I’m branded,” he sniffles.

 

He hasn’t let Richie touch him since the kidnapping. From the bruises and scarring on his ankles to the tear where his piercing used to be, and most prominently the mark Patrick left on him Eddie feels _damaged_ somehow. Like he’s no longer good enough for Richie.

 

“Eddie—“

 

“He was gonna rape me right before you came,” he reveals, “he was pulling down my shorts when he heard you.”

 

Richie swallows. “Eddie, I didn’t…”

 

“Well now you do,” Eddie snaps, “Do you know how weak I felt? How useless? He held me down and burned this ugly fucking word into my arm, and the only reason he didn’t rape me at first was because Belch said you’d kill him if he touched me, not because I was crying and begging.”

 

“Baby, please,” Richie begs.

 

“Don’t you understand? He said I was nothing more than fuckable source of blood to you,” he sobs out.

 

“Eddie you’re not—” Richie begins to protest, but Eddie refuses to listen.

 

“But I can’t stop those words from playing in my head on repeat,” he says, “I feel like I’m going crazy cooped up in here.”

 

“Eddie, it’s dangerous—“

 

“EVERYTHING’S DANGEROUS, RICH, I GET IT,” Eddie screams.

 

“You don’t understand—“

 

Eddie cuts him off again. “I DON’T FUCKING UNDERSTAND?! I SURE FUCKING UNDERSTOOD WHEN I WAS CHAINED UP IN THAT BOMB SHELTER!”

 

Richie lets out a frustrated groan and Eddie feels all the fire and fight leave him at once.

 

 It’s replaced by sorrow.

 

He lets out a sob. “Richie, this isn’t living.”

 

Richie reaches towards him. “It won’t always be this way, Eds,” he assures him.

 

Eddie finally works up the courage to say what’s been in the back of his mind since he was attacked.

 

“I want you to turn me,” Eddie says.

 

“No,” Richie says immediately, “that’s out of the question.”

 

“I can’t stand being weak and scared anymore!” Eddie protests.

 

“We aren’t having this conversation,” Richie states firmly.

 

“Fuck, you’re insufferable!” Eddie yells.

 

He doesn’t let Richie respond, storming out the room and taking refuge in Beverly and Ben's bedroom for the night.

 

Despite being the one who left he aches for Richie.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS YA BOI BACK W ANGST KSAJ.S.NDJKBJKB
> 
> pleasE leave me a comment to get me through exam season yo (im suffering)
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


	8. Masters of Our Own Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstories revealed: Bev and Ben's

Beverly soothingly runs a hand up and down his back as he cries. Ben sits on his other side, trying to offer words of comfort.

 

“Ya know, you’re not the first one to get on Richie’s bad side about this,” Ben begins, “We have this friend named Audra, who Richie’s known for a long time, anyway, she was really upset because her twin flame was human, and she would outlive her lover.”

 

“Lemme guess, you asked why she couldn’t just turn her twin flame?” Eddie says.

 

Ben nods. “He really ripped me a new one. Told me how it was selfish and that I was sick for thinking turning someone was okay.”

 

“Jesus,” Eddie mumbles.

 

“I didn’t really understand why though. Like I wanted to be turned and I never regretted my decision,” Ben says.

 

Eddie frowns as he realizes he doesn’t know Ben’s backstory. “How’d you turn?” 

 

Ben lays back on the bed and rests his arms behind his head. “I know some of the others have pretty interesting stories, but mine is pretty simple.”

 

“I’m sure a story about becoming a vampire can’t be that boring,” Eddie points out.

 

Ben snorts. “So, I was born in 1815 and I lived during the industrial revolution.”

 

Eddie scrunches his nose. “Oh, god the living conditions were horrible in cities back then.”

 

“You’re telling me. I moved to the New York City for work, my job had a lot of heavy lifting so it definitely whipped me into shape, I used to be a real butterball believe it or not,” Ben reveals.

 

Eddie raises an eyebrow. Sure, Ben’s a big guy, kinda bulky, but most of it was muscle. 

 

“Really?”

 

“Yep,” Ben confirms, “and like I said, my story is pretty bland. Living in those conditions takes a toll on you, I was one of the many people of that time period who got sick from the close living quarters.”

 

Eddie shivers, he couldn’t imagine living in that type of environment. Just thinking about the number of germs makes him feel sick.

 

“Anyway, there was this old man named Francis who lived in the same building as me,” Ben says, “I often took care of him because he had no family. When I was sick he came to me and asked me a question.”

 

Eddie catches on pretty quick. “He was a vampire, wasn’t he?”

 

Ben nods. “He asked me if I wanted to live, and I said yes. At that point in my life I hadn’t done much and being taken out by some virus wasn’t really how I wanted my story to end. I passed out again sometime after I gave Francis my answer, and when I woke back up I was in a little cottage.”

 

Eddie lays down on the bed with Ben, resting his head on his chest. Beverly follows suit, spooning him.

 

“Francis asked me again if I would want to live if it entailed eternal life and a fresh start. Once again, I said yes. I know Richie views this type of existence as a curse, but I didn’t have anybody to miss me in my mortal life, I was an only child and orphaned in my late teens. Growing up was never something I looked forward to,” Ben explains.

 

“So, Francis turned you?” Eddie asks.

 

“Yep, became my mentor too. He taught me how to hunt animals and control my urges. We traveled the world together, taking odd jobs here and there until I met Beverly and Richie in Italy,” he says.

 

Eddie frowns. “What happened to Francis?”

 

Ben let’s out a sad sigh. “That’s the one thing I don’t like about this existence: you have forever to miss the ones you love. Francis was killed by a werewolf about eighty years back,” he reveals.

 

“I’m sorry, Ben,” Eddie says softly.

 

“It’s okay,” he responds, “I still don’t regret my decision though. If I hadn’t been turned I wouldn’t have died young and forgotten. I never would have met Beverly.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you got turned because otherwise I never would have met you,” Eddie says, placing a kiss on Ben’s cheek.

 

Ben smiles. “Thanks, Eddie.”

 

However, Eddie knows not everyone can have such a positive outlook on becoming one of the undead. To Richie it meant losing a family he loved, and being tortured and abused for fifty years as he slowly lost his humanity.

 

“I still just don’t get it though. I mean, I can understand why Richie would be opposed to turning people, but he absolutely refuses to hear me out at all,” Eddie complains. 

 

“There’s more to the story than that,” Beverly says, “I’m also why he’s so opposed to turning people.”

 

Eddie rolls over so he’s face to face with her. “What do you mean, Bev?”

 

“Richie turned me,” she whispers, “and he’ll never forgive himself for making me into a monster.”

 

Eddie’s breath hitches. “But, you’re not a-“

 

“Yes, I am,” she cuts him off, “we all are, whether we want to believe it or not.”

 

“But you guys get to be together now, why would he hate himself?”

 

Beverly sighs. “Because I wanted to die when he found me,” she explains, “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

 

“Bevvy...” he whimpers.

 

“Things weren’t always as good as they are now, I was born in 1802 in Ireland, women had practically no rights at all, we were property,” she says bitterly.

 

Eddie holds her hand tightly trying to bring her some sense of comfort.

 

“My husband was a piece of shit, always beat me whenever he had a bit too much to drink. One night he went a little too far, he...he ended up stabbing me in the stomach,” she says.

 

Eddie had noticed the thick scar above her belly button, but never knew it’s origin.

 

“I knocked him out with a vase, I didn’t really even realize how severe the wound was,” she explains, “I remember I could barley think straight, I stumbled outside but we lived far from anyone else, I just felt like I needed to go somewhere.”

 

“Where’d you end up?” he asks softly.

 

“Someone in the middle of the forest. That’s where Richie found me. He immediately knew I was one of his soulmates, but I had no idea what was going on or why he was trying to help me. I begged him to let me die,” she reveals.

 

“Oh, Bevvy,” he whispers.

 

“I didn’t realize how selfish I was being. He ended up turning me out of panic, he didn’t know what to do and he said he couldn’t lose me after we just met,” she continues, “but I was so angry, when I found out what’d he’d done. I told him I hated him for making me into a monster. I was so different back then. I didn’t want to live because I thought life entailed nothing but pain.”

 

“Bevvy, it’s not your fault,” he says.

 

“Of course it is, I’m the reason he’s so against turning people. I acted so horrible to him for so long until I figured out my own shit,” she confesses.

 

“But you had your world turned upside down,” Eddie defends, “and it’s not just you, it started with Elizabeth.”

 

Beverly runs a hand down her face. “He’s just...he’s just so scared of hurting you, Eddie. He’s scared that he’ll trap you in a never-ending hell.”

 

Eddie wants to scream, he wants to say how much he never wants his time with these people to end. He knows it’s perhaps selfish to ask Richie to essentially kill him, to perform an act that meant years of suffering to his twin flame.

 

Eddie sniffles. “I...I just...can we take a nap?” he asks.

 

“Of course,” Ben assures, wrapping a long arm around both of them.

 

Eddie tries to let his warring emotions calm down but they follow him into sleep.

 

 

-

 

 

_Sometimes Eddie_ _’s dreams are more like watching movies. He has a bird’s eye view of a scene, and no matter how hard he tries he can’t interfere. He’s stuck to watch what unfolds before him._

_The first thing he sees is Richie laying on the cold hard ground of a damp cave. He looks considerably weaker and paler. Like all the blood’s left his body. He only has on pants and a shirt that is torn to shreds. Eddie recognizes all the bite marks on his body but they_ _’re all fresh. People Eddie can tell are vampires lounge in the shadows._

_He watches as Richie wakes up. He lets out a choked sob as he takes in his surroundings._

_An elegant looking woman stalks out of the shadows and stands over him._

_Richie doesn_ _’t look at her with recognition._

_Richie lifts his head._ _“Who are you?” he croaks in a distinctively English accent._

_“I’m Elizabeth,” she says coldly, “and I think I’m gonna make you my pet.”_

_“Please, just kill me, please,” he begs._

_He wants to move but it_ _’s like he has no body, he’s merely a consciousness sitting in on a memory._

_The woman looks down a Richie in disgust._ _“If you die then I’ll need a new pet, how about Edmund? A little young for my tastes, but I’ll make due.”_

_Richie_ _’s eye_ _s widen._ _“No, no, no please leave my family alone, I’ll do anything!”_

_Elizabeth moves with inhuman speed and suddenly she_ _’s straddling Richie._

_“Then it looks like we’ve come to an agreement,” she says and Eddie watches in horror as she bares her fangs and digs them into_ _Richie_ _’s neck._

_Richie lets out a gut-wrenching scream and writhes under Elizabeth. He desperately tries to move his weak limbs but his attempts are futile._

_Suddenly he goes still and Elizabeth pulls back, chin bloody._

_Eddie feels like he_ _’s having a panic attack, like all the oxygen's left the room._

_Abruptly Richie_ _’s body begins contorting in a way that reminds him of exorcist movies._

_“Get his sister,” Elizabeth says._

_A vampire drags a terrified whimpering girl out into the middle of the cave and leaves her there. She looks to be around eleven and has Richie_ _’s same curly black hair._

_“Richard?! Oh, Rich, momma’ll be so happy you are alive, she is thinkin’ you were killed by one uh the city folk,” the girl prattles as she notices Richie’s twitching form._

_Richie promptly springs to his feet, having fully gone through the change. The look in his eyes is unrecognizable. Eddie desperately wants the dream to end, knowing that what will happen next won’t be good._

_“Rich?” she calls, “It is Lucy, your sister Lucy. Rich please, please! You scare me this way!”_

_Eddie knows Richie isn_ _’t in control of himself at the moment._

_He_ _’s on top of her in a second, ripping chunks of flesh from her body with his fangs and clumsily trying to find anywhere that has the most blood._

_Eddie stares on, feeling sick as he watches Lucy beg her brother to stop. It only takes a minute until she stops struggling and goes limp._

_Eventually Richie pulls back, breathing heavily. His eyes slowly turn back to a dark blue and his hands start shaking._

_“LUCY!” he screams as looks down at her mutilated body._

_“LUCY, NO, LUCY PLEASE,” he sobs, cupping her bloody face._

_Elizabeth struts over to where he_ _’s cradling his little sister’s body._

_“This was just an example,” she informs him, roughly grabbing his hair and pulling his head back so he’s looking at her, “every time you misbehave we take another.”_

Eddie shoots up in bed, knocking Ben’s arm off of him.

 

He quickly scrambles off the bed and out of the door. 

 

Ben calls his name but he ignores him.

 

He races to Richie’s room and throws open the door to see his twin flame sitting on the floor cigarette in hand.

 

He grimaces as Richie puts out the cigarette on his own ice cold skin even though he knows it doesn’t hurt him.

 

“Eds, baby, what’s wrong, why are you crying?”

 

Eddie hadn’t even noticed the wetness on his cheeks until it was brought to his attention. Regardless, he doesn’t care, instead he launches himself at Richie.

 

Richie easily takes the impact and wordlessly wraps him in his arms.

 

“I saw what you did,” he whispers.

 

Richie tenses up, roughly grabbing the back of Eddie’s shirt. “What do you mean?”

 

“I had a dream about when you were turned,” Eddie admits.

 

“Stupid fucking soul-bond,” Richie curses.

 

“Rich...I saw Lucy,” Eddie reveals.

 

Richie lets out a strangled breath. “You saw Lucy, Oh, god, Eds, fuck, I’m so sorry. Fuck!” he babbles.

 

“Richie, I’m so sorry,” Eddie cries, “you never...you never mentioned-“

 

“I can’t...I wanted to die for so long after that, but I couldn’t...I couldn’t upset Elizabeth. I waited until my whole family was dead before I tried to escape,” he prattles.

 

Eddie let’s out a sob. “Richie...I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s why I can’t do it, Eds, I can’t make you a monster. I have to live with what I did to Lucy for the rest of time,” he babbles, “and I’ll never fucking forgive myself for that.”

 

“Richie, it’s not your-“

 

“But isn’t it? I was the monster who killed her. The bloodlust you feel when you first turn is overwhelming, you kill the first thing with a pulse. You know what you’re doing though. In the back of your head you’re still there. I wanted to stop so bad, but I couldn’t. I can’t make you into something so horrible,” Richie explains.

 

“It’s okay, I won’t ask again, Chee, I’m sorry,” Eddie whispers.

 

Richie runs a hand through his hair worriedly. “Fuck, okay, we’ll figure it out though,” he promises.

 

Eddie nods and lets silence fill the space between them for a while. He wants to let himself fall asleep on Richie’s chest, but there’s still something he needs to discuss.

 

“Beverly told me how you turned her,” he confesses.

 

Richie messily wipes at the tears on his cheeks. “She hated me for so long, especially right after I turned her,” he says sadly, “the first thing she did was tear apart this little fawn, she cried for three days about how little and innocent it was.”

 

“She feels horrible about how she treated you, Richie,” Eddie says.

 

Richie nods. “I know, it’s just sometimes I think I could have saved her the suffering if I just let her die.”

 

Eddie shakes his head. “You wouldn’t have found me without, Bev.”

 

“Maybe that would have been better.”

 

Eddie shoves at Richie’s shoulder in anger, even though he knows he can’t physically hurt him.

 

“Don’t you dare say that!” he exclaims, “I was lost before you guys.”

 

“Still doesn’t stop me from feeling bad about dragging you into this world of monsters,” he counters.

 

Eddie sighs. “Listen, we need to stick together if we’re gonna deal with Henry. We have time to figure out the future.”

 

Richie nods. “Let’s just...let’s just get some sleep, okay?”

 

Eddie agrees and gladly lets Richie carry him to bed. 

 

Next to Richie his dreams are devoid of horror.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie yawns as he trudges through the door of the hospital. It hadn’t taken long for him to find a starting position as a nurse in New York, and he loves his new job, helping people is what he’s always wanted to do. Being a nurse also means he accumulates a lot of great stories about weird patients.

 

Things have slowly begun to go back to normal. The radio silence from Henry allowed the tension to begin simmering down. 

 

Of course, they still take precautions. One of his soulmates always drives him to work, and they all have the ability to track Eddie’s phone to make sure he’s still safe while he’s on the job. It gives everyone a little piece of mind.

 

However, Eddie can still see the anxiety in Richie’s eyes, and he knows it won’t leave until Henry’s taken care of.

 

He shuffles into the waiting room and waves to his coworker Leanne. Working graveyard shifts can be tiring, but in Eddie’s opinion the emergency room of a New York hospital is most exciting around 3 A.M.

 

It also works out because Richie will occasionally host his show in the early hours. That means Eddie gets to tune in and listen to him if things slow down.

 

Tonight happens to be one of those nights. He approaches the radio behind the sign-in desk and puts on Richie’s channel.

 

“You sure do like that channel,” Leanne points out, handing him a cup of shitty break room coffee, “I can’t blame you though, the host is pretty funny.”

 

Eddie snorts. “Don’t tell him that, it’ll go straight to his head.”

 

Leanne raises an eyebrow. “You know him or something?”

 

Eddie smiles. “He’s my boyfriend,” he explains.

 

Leanne perks up. “Oh, really? So, the stories he tells about his boyfriend are about you?”

 

“Unfortunately,” Eddie admits, “I imagine he’s said some pretty embarrassing things.”

 

Leanne shakes her head. “No, all the things I’ve heard are very sweet,” she assures him.

 

Before they can continue their conversation, a drunk college kid stumbles up the desk and places his hand on the counter. He and Leanne both jump when they notice the steak knife that’s stabbed straight through his palm.

 

Even though the injury pulls a wince out of him it's nothing more than just another day at the ER.

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie sits on the bathroom counter looking at his scar. He had just taken a bath, so, he should feel clean. It was a bubble bath too, with sweet smelling soaps. But it doesn’t matter how hard he scrubs at his skin, the word seared into his arm still won’t leave. 

 

It’s the last physical reminder of Patrick. The bruises and cuts have healed. He even got his belly button repierced once the tear had mended. It had hurt like a bitch due to the new scar tissue, but the ring covers up the scarring for the most part. It makes him feel less ugly at least. 

 

Regardless of everything he’s done the word still stays as a reminder. The last of the dead, burnt, scabbed over skin had finally fell away. leaving pink, gnarled, deformed skin in its wake.

 

Eddie sadly traces his fingers over it.

 

He still hasn’t let Richie touch him since what happened. He craves his comfort more than anything, but he’s afraid Richie won’t want to see him in that way. An irrational part of his brain tells him that nobody wants damaged goods.

 

The creaking of the bathroom door opening catches his attention, and he quickly pulls his sleeve down over his scar

 

“Whatcha doing, baby?” Richie asks.

 

Eddie really doesn’t want to explain. He just wants Richie to make him feel okay. 

 

He simply shrugs and holds his arms out. Richie picks him up without question and brings him to the bed.

 

They lay on their sides, face to face. Richie softly caresses his cheeks and for a moment Eddie doesn’t feel so broken.

 

He slides a hand under Richie’s shirt and connects their lips. Their movements are soft and slow. Richie candles the side of Eddie’s face and deepens the kiss.

 

It’s been a long time since Eddie’s felt anything but dirty.

 

Richie pulls back and looks him in the eyes. “Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, I just...I just want to feel normal,” Eddie says.

 

Richie nods and sits up on his knees, pulling his shirt over his head. He then rummages through the nightstand for the lube.

 

By the time he’s turned back around Eddie’s on his back. Richie looks at him with the most adoring gaze and he feels like his heart is going to burst.

 

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Eds,” he says.

 

Eddie’s breath hitches and he brings a hand to Richie’s sweatpants. 

 

“I want you to make me feel good again, Richie,” he whispers.

 

Richie nods and pulls down his sweats before kicking them off. Next, he tugs off Eddie’s shorts but looks at the soft, light sweater Eddie’s wearing with hesitation.

 

Eddie rucks the sweater up to his armpits. “Just to here, okay?”

 

Richie nods and leans down to kiss him. “I’ve missed you, baby, missed your beautiful body,” he says as he settles between Eddie’s legs.

 

Eddie lets out a breathy moan and starts stroking himself slowly. He gasps when he feels Richie bring a finger to his hole.

 

“Missed having you inside me,” he breathes.

 

A month without sex definitely caused him to tighten back up, but he loves the way Richie stretches him out. He can’t wait have him so close again.

 

He wraps his legs around Richie as he pushes in a second finger. 

 

Richie leans down and kisses at his throat as he spreads his fingers inside him.

 

“Bite me, Richie, I want you to have all of me again,” Eddie whispers.

 

Richie nods. “Let me open you up first, love,” he says and slips in a third finger.

 

The fit is a bit tighter than usual, but Richie works him open with deliberate and meaningful thrusts. He has Eddie squirming and whining on his fingers long before he deems him ready.

 

“Fuck, Richie, I need you, please,” Eddie begs.

 

“I got you, baby,” he assures and Eddie lustfully watches him lube up his own cock.

 

His breath hitches as the head of Richie’s cock presses against his hole, and he suddenly remembers how fucking big he is. He pulls Richie into his chest and wraps his legs tighter around him as he slowly fills Eddie up. 

 

He feels absolutely overwhelmed by his feelings for Richie. He wonders how he managed to deny himself something so meaningful for so long.

 

“Move, Richie,” he urges. 

 

Richie’s hips slowly start moving back and forth. Eddie can feel the drag of his cock so clearly with each thrust that it has him begging for more. Eddie continues to hold him close and bares his neck, wanting Richie to connect them further. 

 

Richie’s teeth graze his neck, making him whine. He gasps loudly when Richie finally commits and breaks the skin. He brings a hand to the back of his dark curls and holds him there encouragingly.

 

Richie’s thrusts become more powerful and he shifts his hips to hit Eddie’s prostate.

 

“Fuck, Chee,” he cries, “touch me, please touch me.”

 

Richie obediently brings a hand down to Eddie’s cock. The combined stimulation’s enough to push him over the edge and he comes into Richie’s fist. 

 

A wave of euphoria washes over him and he pulls Richie impossibly closer as he chases his own pleasure. 

 

The feeling of Richie’s come filling him up causes him to gasp. It’s been too long since he’s felt so satisfied. 

 

“I love you, I love you so much, Richie,” Eddie says.

 

Richie pulls back to face him. He licks the blood off his lips before responding, “I’ll never stop loving you, Eddie.”

 

 

-

 

 

 

“I can hear you thinking,” Eddie says.

 

Richie’s had his eyebrows furrowed for the past fifteen minutes and at this point Eddie’s pretty sure he’s gonna blow a gasket. 

 

“Let’s go get tattoos,” he says.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I want to get the last flower that represents you on my soulmate tattoo, and you can get a cover up it’s perfect!” he concludes.

 

“Will they even be able to cover something like this up?”

 

“We’ll we’d have to go to a magical tattoo artist; regular needles wouldn’t work. Anyway, I know this amazing witch, she’s done most of my tattoos,” Richie explains.

 

Eddie pauses. The mark on his arm is still a huge source of shame for him. The idea of being able to turn something so horrible into a piece of beautiful art is very appealing. It feels like the next step in recovery.

 

“Okay, let’s do it,” he agrees.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Eddie looks down at his forearm which is now adorned with fiery reds and oranges.

 

In the end It’s Stan who helps him decide what to get. Eddie was so uncertain about what he should choose; however, he knew he wanted to get something that symbolized a new beginning and recovery.

 

Stan, being a bird fanatic, immediately suggested the phoenix. Eddie quickly fell in love with the idea.

 

He truly feels like he’s rose from the ashes.

 

He traces a finger across the intricate patterns even though it’s still tender. The most amazing part of getting a magical tattoo is that you can decide if it’s, well, magic. 

 

Eddie decided to make the Phoenix’s wings shimmer. It brings a smile to his face whenever his tattoo catches the light and shines. He brought up the concern of people seeing it, but the witch assured him that only he and those he wanted to could view the little extra touch of magic.

 

“You like it?” Richie asks, placing a hand on the small of Eddie’s back to guide him into the apartment building.

 

“It’s perfect, Richie,” Eddie replies. 

 

He smiles. “I’m glad you like it.”

 

Eddie looks up at him and feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest. They’ve been through so much together, and things are finally getting better.

 

“Thank you, Richie,” he says.

 

He raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

 

Eddie looks down. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt anything but damaged,” he explains, “you helped me feel like myself again.”

 

Richie’s eyes widen a bit before his expression softens. “You, Eddie Kaspbrak,” he says scooping Eddie up in a huge bear hug, “are my fucking everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOOF sorry this took so long, exams have been killing me :(  
> luckily school ends in 2 weeks and yall can expect hella updates during the summer
> 
> anyway pls leave me a comment so i have some motivation to write for the next two weeks oof
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


	9. Keeps Us Alive

Eddie looks at Bill concernedly as he stares down a little boy in a yellow rain jacket across the street. He looks almost heartbroken, like yellow raincoats are giving him war flashbacks or something. 

 

Eddie jumps slightly, looking up at Stan and Mike as they sit down next to them at the little outside cafe table, trays of food in hand. Mike hands him the turkey sandwhich he ordered, and goes to give Bill his food only to notice his boyfriend isn’t paying attention. 

 

Stan seems to catch on first because he winces when he sees what Bill’s looking at.

 

“We can move if you want-“ 

 

Bill shakes his head. “He just looks so much like him, ya know?” 

 

Stan nods and they eat their food in science. 

 

Eddie’s has a burning need to ask what the fuck is going on, but something tells him this isn’t the right time. Mostly the look on Stan’s face.

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie tries to slow his racing heart beat as he silently closes the bedroom door behind himself. 

 

Sometimes he still gets nightmares about the attack. They don’t affect him as bad as they used to, meaning he doesn’t wake up screaming. 

 

Now he just wakes up with a jerk, and quietly slips out of bed to get a cup of tea. It helps him calm down without having to wake Richie. No matter how many times his boyfriend assures him that he doesn’t mind Eddie can see the dark bags under his eyes.

 

He slowly pads into the kitchen, jumping slightly when notices there’s already someone in the room.

 

When the lights turn on automatically he knows it’s Bill. The boy tends to deal with light switches and power buttons through his telekinesis.

 

Once the room is illuminated by light, and he’s greeted with the vision of Bill, sitting solemnly at the kitchen table.

 

Eddie wordlessly chooses a mug and places a tea bag in it before he puts the kettle on the stove and sits down across from him. He wonders if the boy in the yellow raincoat has something to do with Bill’s behavior. He doesn’t know the whole story behind Bill’s past. Only that he was born in 1920, coincidentally grew up in the same small town as Eddie only decades earlier and was killed by a mugger with a switch blade.

 

“I may not be able to read your mind but I know what you’re thinking,” Bill says suddenly.

 

Eddie frowns. “Sorry, just curious,” he explains.

 

“It’s okay,” he assures, “I did kinda freak out back there.”

 

Eddie gets up when the kettle starts whistling and slowly pours the hot water into the mug. He stirs his spoon.

 

“Was your death more than a mugging?” It might seem a bit harsh to phrase it that way, but his soulmates aren’t really still hung up on the whole ‘being dead’ thing.

 

Bill chuckles. “No, that much was simple, actually Audra was the one who turned me.”

 

Eddie furrows his brows. “I thought she was all against turning people like Richie.”

 

“She found me in the alleyway as I was bleeding out. I could tell she was a vampire because her eyes turned red. I begged her to turn me, I told her I had a job to finish. I managed to convince her, and it just so happened she knew my soulmates. Besides turning your twin flame is entirely different,” he points out.

 

Eddie nods in agreement. “How’d you know she was a vampire though?” 

 

Bill looks down at his hands which are clasped together on top of the table. 

 

“I was foolishly trying to hunt down the vampire that killed my little brother,” he says.

 

Eddie pauses, putting together a few pieces of the puzzle. “Did he wear a yellow rain coat?”

 

Bill presses his lips into a thin lip and swallows. “Yuh-Yeah, his name was Guh-Guh-Guh- Fuck!,” he takes a deep breath, trying to regain his composure, “his name was Georgie.” 

 

Eddie gives him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry about what happened to him.”

 

Bill shakes his head. “It wasn’t just Georgie, tons of kids went missing during that time period in Derry. There was vampire who liked to feed on children.”

 

Eddie felt sick to his stomach. Sure, killing anyone at all is wrong, but the thought of harming a child is unfathomable.

 

“How’d you find out?” he asks, placing a comforting hand on Bill’s shaking ones.

 

“I became obsessed with finding out who took my brother, I was convinced he was still alive,” Bill explains, “I ended up doing a lot of research into the town’s history, turns out this vampire only visited the town every twenty-seven years, fed on a bunch of kids and then left.”

 

Eddie slowly sips his tea. “How did no one notice the pattern?”

 

Bill lets out a tired laugh. “That’s the kicker, this vampires power was memory control, after a few weeks everyone forgot about the last missing kid.”

 

Eddie shudders at the thought of dying and quickly being forgotten. “That’s horrible.”

 

Bill nods in agreement. “I tried to follow him, but as you know, my mission was cut short by some jackass with a knife,” he grouses, “and that’s why I had to have Audra change me, I had to kill that bastard.”

 

“Did you?” 

 

Bill takes a shaky breath. “Tore him to fucking pieces, but that kinda hatred and violence only makes you scared of yourself more than anything. If it hadn’t been for Mike and Stan...” he trails off.

 

“We’ll all be here to take care of each other,” Eddie promises.

 

Bill gives him a stained smile. “Till the end.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Eddie snapped a rubber band so it flung across the room, striking Richie in the back of the head.

 

Richie yelps. “Jeez, Eds,” he says, wheeling around to glare at the culprit, “have a little respect for the dead, would ya?”

 

Eddie snorts and rolls out of bed, padding over to where Richie’s sitting at his desk. “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggests. 

 

“You know I gotta have these scripts done by tonight, right?”

 

Eddie tugs on his sweatshirt. “Pleaseeeeeee?” he says sweetly.

 

Richie sighs. “It’s those big doe eyes, Eds, I can’t say no to em.”

 

They simply slip on shoes to go out, both still dressed in what could be considered pajamas.

 

“Where are you two losers going?” Stan asks from the couch.

 

“A walk,” Eddie chirps, “wanna come?”

 

Stand wrinkles his nose. “And watch Richie stare at your ass the whole time? No thanks.” 

 

They walk down the street lazily, Richie obnoxiously swinging their arms back and forth. Their conversation topics range from whether or not rompers are a valid clothing choice to what they hope Mike makes for dinner.

 

“Honestly if I wasn’t so in love with you I’d marry Mike for his cooking,” Eddie says entirely serious. 

 

When he doesn’t get a response, he looks up at Richie who’s slowed down his footsteps to almost a full stop. His brows are furrowed in concentration.

 

“What’s wrong?” 

 

“I hear something, c’mon,” he says, tugging on Eddie’s arm.

 

Eddie wants to ask what the hell that means but, suddenly Richie is sprinting a few buildings ahead and dashing into alleyway. Eddie follows but refuses to step into the secluded area.

 

Richie pauses when he notices Eddie’s not following. 

 

His hands are shaking and all he can remember is when Belch lead him into an alleyway looking just like Richie.

 

“Tell me something only you would know,” Eddie demands.

 

Richie gives him a puzzled looks before his face softens once he realizes why he’s hesitating. “Your favorite movie’s Bambi and you cry like a bitch every time we watch it.”

 

Eddie takes a deep breath and nods, slowly stepping into the alleyway. He hears what must have concerned Richie when he catches up to him. He’s stopped right in front of a dumpster.

 

It’s the small weak cries of a puppy, and from what Eddie can tell it’s coming from inside the dumpster.

 

“Oh, my god, Richie we need to get it out,” he says.

 

Richie nods and flings open the dumpster lid, easily scaling the side and jumping in.

 

When he leans back over the edge he’s dropping a squirming, crying bag down to Eddie.

 

He drops to his knees the second the bag is in his arms and starts hastily undoing the knot, but it’s tied tight.

 

Richie’s next to him in a second, simply tearing through the fabric.

 

Eddie gasps a small Rottweiler puppy tumbles out of the bag, looking malnourished and abused. His heart breaks a little as the puppy looks up at him with excited eyes, already so trusting.

 

“Oh, baby,” Eddie cries, hugging the puppy to his chest, “who did this to you?”

 

“That’s just so fucking wrong,” Richie seethes, angrily throwing the bag back in the dumpster.

 

“Can we keep him?” Eddie asks hopefully.

 

“Of course we’re keeping him, what kinda question is that?” 

 

 

-

 

 

When they get home, puppy in hand, Stan’s sitting on the kitchen counter being fed samples of Mike’s cooking by Bill.

 

“Is that a fucking dog?” Stan deadpans.

 

Eddie frowns when Mike’s hand tightens on the ladle he’s holding. He hadn’t considered that he might be uncomfortable around dogs.

 

“Yes, and he’s our son,” Richie replies.

 

Stan sighs. “It was foolish of me to think you two could go anywhere unsupervised.”

 

Eddie brings the puppy to the kitchen, careful to avoid Mike, and shoves it in Stan’s face. “Look how cute it is, you stone cold bitch,” Eddie says.

 

Bill laughs at Eddie’s demand and reaches out to stroke the pup’s head.

 

“Where’d you find him?”

 

“In a dumpster, someone tied him up in bag and threw him in,” Richie explains.

 

Bill frowns. “That’s fucked up.”

 

Richie huffs. “You’re telling me.”

 

Mike looks over tentatively from the pot he’s stirring. Eddie can tell he’s on edge and he can’t blame him considering what happened the last time Mike had a dog.

 

“You want to pet him?” Eddie offers.

 

Mike flinches. “I’m good, have you thought of a name?” he says changing the subject.

 

Eddie purses his lips. “What about Mr. Chips?”

 

Mike turns and to give him a grateful smile. “Yeah, I think that’s a great name, Eddie.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie grins as his front is slammed roughly into their bedroom wall. He gasps as Richie grabs his hips harshly and grinds his hard cock against his ass. 

 

Eddie could probably come from this he’s so worked up. 

 

They haven’t fucked rough since the attack. Despite Eddie’s constant reassurance that he understood that the words Richie spoke to him during a scene weren’t real, his boyfriend still refused. He couldn’t get over the whole “fuckable drinking fountain” fiasco.

 

He refuses to let what happened to him ruin his relationship, and he definitely isn’t going to let it stop him from continuing to explore BDSM.

 

Of course, Richie had to be a little stubborn shit, and if they had one more round of vanilla sex Eddie was going to lose his mind.

 

So, he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

 

There had been a group of werewolves at The Stake that night. All his soulmates glared at them and it didn’t take Eddie long to figure out werewolves and vampires _don’t_ get along.

 

So, when he couldn’t tempt Richie onto the dance floor he decided to use that fact to his advantage.

 

All it took was Eddie whispering in his ear. “Ya know, Richie, if you’re not gonna fuck me good maybe I can get one of those wolves to bend me over the bar. Bet they’d do it too, hold me down let me have it, maybe even cover me up in bite marks.”

 

He was promptly marched out of the bar at that point which is what got them where they are now.

 

“Dirty little slut,” Richie growls in his ear.

 

“Yeah?” Eddie taunts, “and what are you gonna do about it?”

 

The slap Richie leaves on his ass has him gritting his teeth and begging for more.

 

“You don’t get my cock when you want and decide to settle for anything that will fill you up, have you forgotten who you belong to?” Richie asks.

 

Eddie pushes back against his clothed cock. “Yes.”

 

“Looks like you need a reminder then,” he says, grabbing a fistful of Eddie’s hair and pulling his head to the side to expose his neck. 

 

Eddie let’s out a strangled moan as he forcefully sinks his fangs into the side of his neck. Unlike the last few times Eddie’s convinced him to bite, this is harsh and bruising. 

 

Richie pulls back after a few moments and Eddie can feel sticky blood trickle down to his collar bones. Suddenly the body pinning him to the wall steps back and he’s being pulled by the back of his shirt and pushed towards the mattress. Said shirt is roughly pulled over his head before he’s bent over the bed.

 

Richie grabs his ass in both hands and squeezes. “You’re gonna remember who you belong to after tonight.”

 

His skimpy shorts are pulled off his legs and a hard slap his placed on his ass. Eddie cries out in a mixture of pain and surprise. He sticks his ass out, trying to tempt Richie into hitting him more.

 

Richie spreads his cheeks and presses a thumb against him. “Dirty slut, you’re already wet and stretched, planned this didn’t you? Look at this pretty little hole,” he says before spitting on Eddie’s rim, “who does it belong to?”

 

“You, Richie, it belongs to you,” he whimpers, “just a warm hole for you to fuck your come into.”

 

Richie’s breath hitches. “That’s right baby, that’s all you’re good for, huh?”

 

Eddie keens and grips at the bed sheets. He hears shuffling behind him and looks back to see Richie throwing off his shirt and walking to the closet. He returns, hands full with handcuffs, a ball gag, vibrator and blindfold.

 

He’s carelessly manhandled to the middle of the bed before his wrists are grasped in a bruising grip and secured in the handcuffs. Richie towers over him, obstructing his vision as he wraps the blindfold around his head.

 

“Maybe I should just leave you here, teach my slut a little lesson,” Richie muses.

 

Eddie turns his head towards the sound of Richie’s voice. “But I can keep you nice and warm, it’ll feel so good around your cock,” he says, spreading his legs.

 

“I decide what happens to you, you’re just my toy, you don’t get a say,” Richie growls.

 

Eddie resists the urge to slip into a pliant headspace and give into Richie’s dominance. He wants to work him up more because the more agitated he gets the harder he’ll fuck him. 

 

And Eddie wants it _hard_ , like in his guts, can’t think straight hard.

 

Eddie brings a knee up to his chest, exposing himself to Richie. “Please, I want you to give it to me good, I want it to hurt.”

 

“Oh, it’ll hurt, baby,” Richie chuckles.

 

Eddie whines when he feels his hole give way to the blunt tip of a vibrator.

 

“What? Did you think I’d make it easy for you?” Richie teases, “you’re gonna be desperate for it, needy and begging for my cock.”

 

Eddie writhes, pulling against the handcuffs as the vibrator starts up. The stimulation has him curling his toes, but it’s not what he wants. He’d much rather have Richie’s cock. 

 

He shivers as Richie runs his hands up his chest, stopping at his nipples, lightly running his fingers over them. Eddie arches his back into the touch.

 

Richie hums. “I know you like it when I touch you there, baby, but this is a punishment.”

 

Eddie feels Richie shift on the bed and hears him pick something up. He gasps when there’s a sudden painful pressure on his nipples. He breathes heavily, feeling the metal chain of the nipple clamps rest on his chest. 

 

Richie pats his stomach condescendingly and slides off the bed. Eddie makes a noise of confusion and gets a scoff in response.

 

“Did you really think I was gonna sit there and entertain you?” he asks, suddenly he’s leaning back over Eddie and the vibrator is being shoved deeper into him, hitting his prostate.

 

He cries out and tugs on the restraints until his wrists feel raw.

 

“I think a little time out will serve as a reminder of who you belong to,” he says, “besides I have some scripts to work on for my show.”

 

“Richie, please, please, I’m sorry for teasing you, please I need you to fuck me,” he begs.

 

Richie sighs. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t shut up.”

 

Eddie whines as a ball gag is forced into his mouth effectively silencing him.

 

“You’ll snap your fingers if you want it to stop,” he informs him before leaving Eddie alone on the bed.

 

He feels numb as he listens to the clicking of Richie’s keyboard. He just wants to be filled with Richie’s cock. Despite his teasing at the bar Eddie can’t imagine submitting to anyone else. 

 

His body trembles as the vibrator continues to press against his prostate. He feels like he’s on fire. His defiance has melted away and now he wants nothing more than to just please Richie. If he’s good then he’ll get fucked.

 

He’s so close but he doesn’t want to come without Richie inside him. He wants to feel full again, he wants to be put in his place.

 

Right when Eddie’s sure he’s about to lose his goddamn mind he hears the chair creak as Richie gets up. 

 

He pants as the ball gag is removed. “Richie, please need you so bad, want you to fuck me and claim me.”

 

Richie wipes at the tears running down his cheeks. “You remember who owns you again?”

 

Eddie nods. “Just you, only you, no one else can fuck me as good, only want you,” he sobs, almost feeling hysterical.

 

"Good because if you ever came home smelling like dog I'll lose my mind," Richie switches the vibrator off and slowly slides it out, “I think you’ve earned your reward.”

 

Eddie makes a noise that’s a mixture of happy and relieved. “I want you to fuck me hard, want to feel it all the way in my stomach, so I never forget who I belong to again.”

 

He nearly screams as Richie fills him up in one harsh thrust. He missed this, the rush and lull of subspace. His hands itch to press down on the bulge he knows his on his stomach.

 

“God, you’re so fucking tight around me,” Richie growls, “your stomach’s bulging, baby, you’re so fucking full yet you gripping me so tight, your little hole doesn’t want me to pull out even though I’m all the way in your fucking guts.”

 

Eddie moans loudly, trying to wrap his legs around Richie, but they end up being roughly pushed to his chest.

 

Richie’s fucking him with deep, calculated thrusts, and Eddie’s so close he knows it won’t be long.

 

“Wanna come, Richie,” he whimpers.

 

“Well, you can come whenever you want, baby, but I’m gonna keep fucking you till you’re sobbing,” he replies.

 

Eddie whines, pulling at the cuffs again. “Can’t wait for you to fill me up, warm up my insides, keep my hole stretched wide with your cock.”

 

He doesn’t usually talk, at least nowhere near as much as Richie, but he just wants this so bad.

 

“Is that what you want, baby? My come all nice and warm in you? Keeping you full with my cock?” he taunts.

 

Eddie tenses, releasing onto his chest, he lets out a sob as he rides out his high.

 

Richie decides that now is a good time to pick up the pace because he starts wildly fucking into Eddie. His forearms are on either side of his chest, caging him in.

 

He continues to ram into Eddie, scraping his fangs along his collar bone. 

 

“My good boy, taking my cock so well, aren’t you? Such a good little slut for me,” he praises.

 

Eddie’s writing from the overstimulation, desperate for Richie to finish and fill him up.

 

“Please, only for you, fuck me so good. Want it so bad, always feels so good inside me,” he pleads.

 

Richie gets in a few more rough thrusts before ruthlessly biting into Eddie’s shoulder and pumping him full of come.

 

Eddie clenches harshly around Richie, refusing to let him pull out. Not that it matters, considering he’s still busy lapping up the blood pouring from his wound.

 

He whines when Richie pulls back, but calms down when he realizes he’s going to undo the cuffs. He immediately pulls Richie flush to his chest, and bares his neck, letting him continue to drink.

 

Eddie’s grip on Richie slowly lessens as he feels his mind clear.

 

“Such a little brat,” Richie mumbles against his neck, “you always know what to do to set me off.”

 

“Thank you, Richie, needed this,” he murmurs.

 

Richie stills. “Sorry for being so stubborn about it, baby,” he apologizes.

 

Eddie shakes his head, bringing a hand up to slide the blindfold up to his forehead. “It’s okay, you took care of me.”

 

Richie hums, letting Eddie enjoy the feeling of being plugged full of come for a bit longer before he insists on starting the aftercare process.

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie looks at his own tired eyes in the mirror as he washes his hands. He’s not sure whether to curse his bladder for waking him up in the middle of the night or the weather for being so cold.

 

He quickly dries his hands and goes to reach for the door knob when he hears the sound of something crashing in the living room. There’s movement from down the hall and Eddie assumes Richie must be rushing out of bed.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Bowers?” Richie growls.

 

Eddie’s blood runs cold.

 

“I’m here to finish what I started,” a voice replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here she is, and i finally decided on the number of chapters, next chapter will be the last so i can possibly continue this series if yall would like :) 
> 
> comments are my biggest motivator tbh
> 
>  
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


	10. Captains of Our Own Souls

 

“We’re in the middle of an apartment complex, what are you gonna do?” Richie hisses.

 

Eddie continues peering out the crack of the door and sees his other soulmates rush into the living room, standing behind Richie. 

 

“What? Do you think you’re the only one with magical help? Don’t worry, the humans won’t hear anything,” he assures.

 

Eddie notices that they’re all looking over Henry’s shoulder warily. He’s confused until figures step forward, flanking Henry. It takes him a second to make out their faces. He gasps softly when he recognizes the werewolves form the bar.

 

Suddenly all eyes turn to him. 

 

“Found him, boss,” one of the werewolves says with a grin.

 

“You know what to do,” Henry replies, “I want him dead.”

 

Eddie slams the door shut, jumping when there’s a powerful force banging against it. It’s quickly gone and Eddie listens as chaos ensures outside. 

 

He wants to curl into a ball and wait till it’s all over, but curiously takes over and he peeks outside. 

 

It looks like a war zone; vampires against werewolves. It doesn’t seem like his soulmates are outnumbered, definitely holding their own. In the middle are Richie and Henry, viscously attacking each other.

 

He can’t tear us eyes form the violence. He cringes as he watches Ben hold a werewolf still as Beverly rips its bottom jaw clean off. His soulmates seem to work in tandem, all assisting each other as they takedown the wolves.

 

His soulmates are finishing off the last wolf when he turns his attention back to Richie. Henry is clearly messing with him, dancing around each attack. 

 

Eddie wonders what he’s stalling for until he notices the wolf, hunched down several feet behind Richie. He’s about to pounce.

 

He’s heard people say that sometimes in crisis situations, you move on instinct, almost automatically, like an involuntary spasm. Like how a mother sticks her arm in front of her child when the car brakes too fast.

 

He’s in the living room in seconds, nearly slipping in his socked feet. 

 

“Don’t!” he cries, standing frozen, having gained the attention of the werewolf. Richie whips around and Eddie turns to look at him. He wants to tell him to turn back around! He shouldn’t turn his back to Henry! But suddenly Beverly’s on Henry’s back, dragging him to the floor.

 

By the time he turns back around the wolf is so close he’s faced with yellowed incisors, sharp as knives. 

 

“Eddie!” Richie screams.

 

He’s surprised he doesn’t scream. Not even when the Werewolf digs his claws straight into Eddie’s stomach. He only lets out a shocked squeak as his insides are torn up. Each of the wolf’s claws like tiny daggers piercing him.

 

White hot pain consumes him and he wants to scream at the top of his lungs, but it feels like all the air has been knocked out of his chest.

 

Richie’s throwing the werewolf off him in second. He only gasps as the nails are ripped from his stomach. Suddenly he’s staring at the ceiling, it takes him a second to realize it’s because he’s collapsed.

 

He places a hand on his stomach and realizes how extensive his wounds are. When he brings his hand back up to his face it’s drenched in blood.

 

Tears begin to run down his cheeks and he lets out a weak cry. 

 

He doesn’t want to die. 

 

Richie’s bending over him in a second.

 

“Baby, baby, baby, you’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be alright,” he soothes.

 

Eddie breathes shakily. “I don’t wanna die...” he whimpers and brings a hand up to touch Richie’s face. He frowns when the action only serves to paint Richie’s cheeks with his own blood.

 

“I know, baby, you’re gonna be fine,” Richie assures him.

 

Eddie has a sinking feeling he won’t be because his vision is slowly getting more blurry, and breathing isn’t getting easier.

 

He cries out when Richie puts pressure on his wound. “Hurts!” he protests. 

 

“I know, I know, baby, I’m sorry,” Richie says, voice absolutely broken. 

 

He can hear Beverly’s voice, but it’s so faint. 

 

“You have to make a decision now, Rich! He’s gonna die!”

 

“Hey, listen to me you’re gonna be okay, Eds” he reiterates.

 

“Richie, for the last time...I told you not to call me that...you know I...”

 

 

-

 

 _It_ _’s like a movie reel_ , he thinks.

 

_Eddie_ _’s three and his father is throwing him up in the air and catching him safely as he falls._

_“Again!” Eddie squeals in delight._

_His father humors him and once again Eddie feels like he_ _’s flying._

_“Frank! Be careful!” his mother shrieks, “He could get hurt, he’s very delicate, you know.”_

_His father sounds exasperated._ _“You gotta let kids be kids, Sonia,” he says._

There’s a flicker.

_Eddie_ _’s five and_ _his mother_ _’s holding his arm so hard it hurts, dragging him inside. They just got back from his Father’s funeral._

_“I’m so disappointed in you, Edward! I told you to not get mud on your shoes, yet you disobey me!” she scolds._

_Five-year-old Eddie hangs his head in shame and whispers._ _“Sorry, mommy.”_

Flicker.

_Eddie_ _’s nine and sitting in his plain bedroom, staring out the window. The neighborhood boys roughhouse each other on the lawn across the street. Eddie wishes he could join their dogpile._

_The tiny timer on his watch goes off and he obediently swallows his sugar pills._

Flicker.

_He_ _’s thirteen and screaming at his mother, face red with anger._

_He throws pill bottles on the floor angrily and storms out the house. His has no one to go to as his reality crumbles to the ground. He sleeps at the quarry that night. He liked to imagine it’d be where he’d hang out with friends if he was allowed to have any._

Flicker.

_Eddie_ _’s fifteen when he realizes he has a crush on the captain of the football team. Shame swirls in his gut and he immediately thinks of the fire and brimstone that’s awaiting him in Hell. His mother’s voice runs through his head “Being gay is dirty, swee_ _theart, it’s a sin._ _”_

_Eddie doesn_ _’t want to be dirty._

Flicker.

_Eddie_ _’s eighteen and looks on emotionlessly as his mother’s coffin is lowered into the ground._

_People pay their condolences, but the only thing he_ _’s upset about is how much the funeral costs._

Flicker.

_Eddie_ _’s ninet_ _een when he wraps his legs around some guy_ _’s back and moans. It’s his first time, but his partner is considerate and experienced._

_If this is what being dirty entails then Eddie wants to be filthy._

Flicker.

_He_ _’s twenty when he scrunches up his eyes as the tat_ _too needle grazes his rib cage. He squeezes his best friend Hazel_ _’s hand so hard she winces._

_He_ _’s captivated by the pinks and reds that start decorating his skin. He decides maybe not all needles are bad._

Flicker.

_He_ _’s twenty-one and he’s in love. He shivers,_ _his breath visible as he sighs. Richie looks down before shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it around Eddie, pulling him into his side._

_Suddenly his chest is warm with the burst of affection he feels._

The same memory plays over again and again, like there’s a glitch.

Eddie realizes that’s it, that’s all there is.

 

He wants to scream out that he wants more than that! He wants more than twenty-one years, he wants more time with Richie, more time with his soulmates.

 

The slideshow of memories is abruptly cuts out and Eddie is made very aware of what pain is again.

 

He screams and pulls at whoever’s on top of him. He’s veins feel like they’re on fire. His skin is knitting itself back together and scarring over. His heart stops pumping blood as it’s replaced with venom.

 

The weight on top of him shifts away and he feels numb.

 

Everything is black. 

 

 

-

 

 

Richie cradles Eddie’s face in his hands. He’s sick to his stomach. Eddie had been so close to death, and Richie could feel it. He could feel the beginning of Eddie’s sorrow and regret. Eddie’s first regret had sifted slowly through his head.

_I didn’t get to finish my sentence! I didn’t get to tell him that I love him!_

 

Richie couldn’t take listening to anymore. He wonders how selfish that makes him; that he turned his twin flame because he couldn’t bare the pain of losing him.

 

Slowly Eddie’s lashes flutter open and he stares at Richie with deep red eyes. 

 

He feels sick.

 

Immediately Eddie’s surging forward, eyes locked on Mr. Chips, who’s in Mike’s arms.

 

Richie presses him back down on the ground. He saw that one from a mile away.

 

Quickly, he thrusts a IV bag full of blood with the top cut off into Eddie’s hands. He drinks it so eagerly that Richie’s pretty sure he spills half of it onto his neck. 

 

Eddie unceremoniously drops the bag once he’s drained it and locks eyes with Richie. His bloodlust is temporarily satiated. 

 

He pulls Richie flush to his chest. “Richie!” he exclaims.

 

Immediately Richie’s full out sobbing. “I’m so fucking sorry, Eddie, I’m so sorry, I thought—I thought we’d have more time, I’m so fucking selfish,” he rambles.

 

Eddie shakes his head. “I’m not mad, baby.”

 

Richie holds him closer. He feels like Eddie doesn’t understand the severity of the situation. He feels as if he needs to mourn Eddie’s loss of humanity, but his boyfriend seems more concerned with him.

 

“God, you shouldn’t be the one comforting me,” Richie groans, pulling back.

 

Eddie ignores him, instead grabbing Richie’s forearm. “You’re hurt,” he states.

 

Richie looks down at his arm. The Werewolf had got him good. A nasty gash runs down the entirety of his forearm. There was no blood, of course. Instead the gaping wound revealed dried up, dead flesh. The inside of a vampire is pretty nasty if you ask Richie.

 

“It’s okay, I’ll survive,” he promises.

 

Eddie softly runs his fingertips over the wound. Richie gasps as the skin knits itself back together, fading into a pink scar and then into brand new, healed skin.

 

Eddie’s staring at his arm, eyes as wide as saucers.

 

“Looks like you just found your power,” Richie says, “you’re a healer, Eds.”

 

Eddie looks at Richie’s forearm in wonder and begins running his fingers over the back bruises on Richie’s cheeks and arms.

 

“This is amazing,” he marvels.

 

Richie couldn’t disagree more.

 

 

-

 

Eddie thinks he adjusts pretty well to his new reality. The thing he hates the most is hunting. He usually can’t stomach the act of ripping open live animals.

 

He hasn’t been allowed to go back to the hospital until recently. Learning to handle himself around blood had been difficult.

 

But Eddie loves his job all the more now.

 

He gets to heal people, he gets to do good.

 

Richie is still distant and while Eddie understand he’ll need a while he can’t help but be happy. He didn’t want to die before he got to spend a lifetime with Richie.

 

 

-

 

Richie’s heart lurches as Eddie squeezes his hand so hard it hurts. A little girl across the street just got a nose bleed, and he can tell Eddie wants nothing more than to attack her.

 

He’s still learning to control his urges and Richie feels horrible anytime he slips.

 

He made him into a monster, something with uncontrollable bloodlust. His soul is forever tainted, there’s no chance of dying a pure death now. 

 

He could never articulate how horrible he feels for taking that away from Eddie.

 

 

-

 

 

Eddie’s sitting on the roof of a tall building, legs hanging over the edge. He playfully kicks them back and forth and lays his head on Richie’s shoulder.

 

The he looks down at ever moving mass of people below him. He falls in love with The City That Never Sleeps a little more each day.

 

Richie’s silent, gazing off into space. Eddie already knows what he’s thinking about.

 

“Thank you,” Eddie says.

 

Richie turns to give him a confused look.

 

“Thank you for not letting me die,” Eddie says.

 

“You did die Eddie, and you died young,” he points out. 

 

Eddie shakes his head. “Only the good die young, like Lucy and Georgie, and I don’t think this is death...this is just forever.”

 

Richie scoffs. “A never-ending Hell.”

 

Eddie sighs. “I know that this life has so many bad things that come with it, that it brought you so much pain, but I prefer this life over bleeding out on our living room floor.”

 

Richie runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “But this life entails being a monster, Eddie.” 

 

“Yeah, but I can help people, there’s more smiles in the ER than sobbing nowadays,” he says.

 

“I just...I just wish you had more time,” Richie responds.

 

“I know, I do too,” he agrees, “but I would take this over being without you for eternity.”

 

Richie sighs. “I know I have a hard time seeing the good in this life, but I...I don’t think I could ever let you go. I acted a bit impulsively when I turned you, but...but I couldn’t bear the thought of not spending forever with you.”

 

Eddie looks up at a teary-eyed Richie. He pulls him into a loving kiss.

 

“We should get married,” Eddie says.

 

Richie raises his eyebrows surprised at the sudden topic change. “Are you proposing?”

 

“Sure,” Eddie confirms. “we might as well get a head start on our forever.”

 

 

-

 

 

It’s a few months later, and they find themselves on the same rooftop.

 

There’s champagne flutes next to them, and they’re both dressed up in suits.

 

“I can’t believe we snuck away from our own wedding reception,” Eddie giggles.

 

Richie grins. “We’ll go back in a bit, besides I’m sure Beverly’s keeping everyone entertained.”

 

“I love this view,” Eddie marvels, looking with child-like wonder at the city, lit up despite the late hour. 

 

“God, I love you,” Richie says.

 

Eddie smiles and picks up his champagne flute. “Here’s to forever.”

 

“To forever,” Richie agrees, clinking their glasses together. 

 

Eddie looks back at the city in awe, briefly he wonders where they’ll go for their honeymoon.

 

He doesn’t contemplate it long, instead enjoying the moment.

 

After all, they have forever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jqbd;32nro3ik here she is
> 
> I feel like this is kinda rushed, but thats almost how i wanted to portray it? like eddies death was sudden and fast, it kinda made richie come to terms with reality. 
> 
> anyway, i cant believe this is done hnggggg, you know i had to make the ending cheesy. I might add later installments though.
> 
> anyway thank you so much to anyone who supported this story! it means the world to me!! 
> 
> please leave me a comment and tell me what you think! xoxox
> 
> my tumblr- happytreasure


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